Local municipal leaders are generally in favour of the new planning requirements proposed as part of a host of amendments for the Municipal Government Act (MGA).
Last week, the provincial government tabled Bill 20, which lays out 11 proposed changes to the MGA. This is part of the first phase of an ongoing review of the MGA, and if Bill 20 is passed, the review will enter its second phase.
“The legislative amendments introduced (March 16) are an important milestone for the Municipal Government Act,” said Municipal Affairs minister Diana McQueen. “The proposed changes will give our communities the legislation they need to grow and thrive. We look forward to continuing to work with our municipal partners and key stakeholders over the coming months towards the completion of this important review.”
Among the changes proposed for the GA are requirements for municipalities to adopt public participation policies outlining how they must engage stakeholders and adopt new methods of notifying the public outside of mail and newspaper advertising. Currently, municipalities determine their own public participation practices.
Municipal councils will be required to develop codes of conduct based on standards that will be later established in an MGA regulation. Notably, the codes will not allow council to remove other councillors from office.
The MGA will also now better define the distinction between items that must be discussed and passed in a public meeting and in-camera items, and will allow municipalities to pass bylaws to decrease the require percentage of signatures needed for collecting petitions, as well as extend the time period for collecting signatures.
Municipalities will also be required to adopt three-year operating plans and five-year capital plans.
It will also introduce new annexation principles and make voluntary amalgamations easier for small communities. Summer villages in particular have indicated amalgamation is incredibly difficult.
Finally, Subdivision and Appeal Board (SDAB) members will be required to undergo mandatory training offered locally, regionally or by the province. No training is currently required.
When contacted last Thursday, Westlock mayor Ralph Leriger said he had not gone through the entire list of changes proposed for the MGA and was planning to sit down with the town CAO to review them.
He noted that the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association has been keeping member municipalities abreast of their lobbying efforts to amend the MGA.
However, he did comment that the code of conduct municipalities will be required to establish was something he had in the back of his mind as something town council might eventually approach.
He added that he hoped the code of conduct will give firmer definitions around conflict of interest.
When asked about the added burden from having develop new operating and capital plans, Leriger said the town has been working on three to four-year budgets anyways, and just completed a three-year strategic plan.
“I’m a very strong advocate of planning,” he added.
Westlock County reeve Bud Massey said he hadn’t gone over the list of changes and it would be premature to comment.
However, he did state that the new requirements for municipalities to adopt three-year operating and five-year capital plans were “a great idea,” adding that he was in favour of long-term planning.
He said that it will require some more work by municipalities, but in the long-term, it forces municipalities to think strategically.
The last major consolidation of the MGA took place in 1995, after nearly 10 years of review. The current review started in 2012 and has involved input from over 1,200 submissions.
