Westlock County has cleared its first hurdle on its way to getting a full inspection by the provincial government.
Municipal Affairs spokesperson Jerry Ward confirmed minister Danielle Larivee has approved Westlock County’s request and will move ahead with the preliminary inspection—the first step in the review process.
“[The minister] will decide on a case by case basis whether it warrants a preliminary review, and in this case she feels it does,” Ward said.
Westlock County councillors made a motion to request for the municipal inspection at their June 28 meeting, but clarified their motion July 12 at the advice of Municipal Affairs.
Ward explained Municipal Affairs would send representatives to conduct the preliminary review.
The results will be presented to the minister who will determine whether a full-scale review is warranted.
“The purpose of the preliminary review is to identify and better understand the issues that led to the request,” he said.
“That process includes a review and analysis of information that the municipality is required to submit annually to the ministry, as well as visits to the municipality to interview key individuals.”
The initial inspection process is expected to take several weeks to complete.
“They will make the recommendation to the minister, based on those findings,” Ward said.
Westlock County interim CAO Pat Vincent confirmed that the county had received a response from Larivee and would have more information after council’s Aug. 9 meeting.
“A response has been received as of [Aug. 4] to council’s request and will be brought forward to council’s agenda on Tuesday,” Vincent said.
If a full-scale review is called for, Municipal Affairs would put the job out for tender.
The timeline for the full review is approximately eight or nine months.
