Warning

[carebear300]

In my humble opinion this does have a place on the commodity marketing discussion sight. If we don't maintain adequate rural infrastructure we aren't able to market our production in a timely and orderly manner. I too was on council for ten years and was a part of council when the decision was made to dispense with rate payer meetings due to low attendance(against my wishes) and one of the reasons I finally just quit in disgust. I was never scared to stand up and explain why certain things were done in a certain matter. I also more than once admitted that I had been a part of a less than ideal solution. I wish I had the answer about getting more and better civic minded individuals involved but I haven't been able to figure that one out. Back in those old days we were on council for the betterment of our area not for our own benefit, but as we see nowadays it appears too often personal gain seems to be a major motivation. Courage to become involved and to take the extra responsibility is not easily found in individuals today. We all live very busy lives of our own it seems.

[farmaholic]

Yea I know this is supposed be a commodity marketing thread but it isn't the only thread that gets started unrelated to commodity marketing. There are only a couple of things that irk me in my RM. One is the basic abandonment of (back)roads that at one time were maintained on a somewhat regular basis. You can barely drive a high clearance sprayer down them without getting thrown from the seat or drive a combine down them without the flex header or pickup just about snapping off. All a result of water accumulating on the road because the shoulders are higher than the middle and regular traffic punching the holes bigger and bigger. A light dusting of gravel would also help. The sad part is this RM is in (very)good financial shape because of a wee bit of oil activity, major pipelines running through it and some decent farmland in it. I wish they would service the roads instead of having a wad of cash in the bank without any debt of significance. They used to look after them better than they do now and the machinery is even right up to date. What it boils down to is policy--not any councilor in particular. Otherwise there really isn't much to complain about.

[grrrr]

toe: If you have a councillor who is not acting legally or morally, maybe you should contact the SARM head office in Regina and let them know.

[toe]

The legal department of SARM will quite abruptly tell you that they are engaged by SARM and its RM members; and have no desire to discuss any legal matters with any ratepayer. They bill RM's for their legal advice; and I could relate how their shallow advice was taken to Court of Queen's Bench Chambers last year; and in the end the judge promptly ruled exactly as it reads in the Municipal Act and the Local Government Elections Act. That decision cost ratepayers $2901 out of pocket, plus the full tariff allowed in the judgement; plus the RM legal costs in court; plus SARM legal advice etc.

Nope I don't think SARM will hear from me. Municipal Affairs advisors can't help, I talked to Brad Walls staff; the auditor may look at the books; and a couple of other avenues of redress were pursued.
All parties won't touch RM's with a 100 foot pole. There are but a few ratepayers with a backbone, and it has nothing to do with balls.

[sumdumguy]

All council meetings should be open with all
correspondence open and available for
ratepayers. You should try to run an on- farm
cleaning plant with one jealous vengeful
councillor next door. He never let up until the
other councillors got on his case. A lot of
damage was done. The government even turned
our road into heavy haul and assumed the cost
so all farmers had a great road.
It still bugged his ars.

[stonepicker]

With all due respect toe, it sounds like you have a big
personal axe too grind. Almost all rural councillors are
completely untrained in municipal politics,they're only
human, there will be favoritism at times, all
municipality's have that to a certain extent. It's a
thankless job which very few people want. Give
someone alittle bit of power and the majority of them
seem to change somewhat. Life;s a journey so enjoy
the ride and don't sweat the small stuff.

[Jfreedom]

Toe as a current councillor I have heard many a
coffee shop rumor that is so far out it's hard to
believe that grown men would repeat. If you feel
(and it sounds like you do have evidence) you
have a valid case of conflict of interest then
make that complaint in writing to ministry of
municipal affairs. They then put it to a judge
within I think 2 days (it's in the act) to examine
the minuites and make a decision .I totally
understand your frustration it's why I ran for
council in the first place . Good luck most of us
do the job for the good of the community but I
have run into my fair share of professional meals
and milage guys in my day . Nothing shakes up
the old boys club like an election or two even if
you lose the message that someone is watching
is sent .

[toe]

And with all the repect you deserve may I repeat back to you in words you may understand
-one or even two inexperienced, untrained newcomers to a council should have little effect on a council because one would hope that the other 5 no longer fit in those categories. A council and each council member only gains their authority to act when the majority of council members pass a resolution giving such authority. The Municipalities Act is a literal "Bible" as far as spelling out the duties and obligations of council members in carrying out their duty to represent all of the electorate.
No one should get deliberate free tries at operating outside the Municipal Act; and any slack you give on that matter is not warranted or valid.
There is training available; and no reason why any prospective councillor should not read the Municipal Act and the Local Government Act before submitting nomination papers. It would also do no harm to attend some council meetings at nearby Municipalities for a little practical training. If you are saying someone can not understand these Acts; and has a tendency to show favoritism; then I assure you that those persons are not yet fit to subscribe to an oath of office; and will not understand a code of ethics or code of conduct. It isn't small stuff; its serious business that carries with it an obligation of the highest standards.
A councillor's job is not meant to be a power trip ticket; and the thankless job comment is most often an attempt to portray someone to be a martyr. Its long term effect is to convince everyone not on council to never consider taking a term on council. Thus this "thankless job" comment is one of the most damaging comments that is ever uttered.

Your apparent low expectations may well be as high as most voters demand; and that is exactly why we get the governments that we deserve.
Please concentrate on the details of the previous posts; and you will find honest accounts of what has happened. Please specify exactly where you find any axes.

[stonepicker]

well, you can call my expectations low if you like, but i
have no interest in running for rural council so in that
regard i don't plan on criticizing them too much. What
i would like to see is a maximum of two or three terms
for a councilor, i think it would stop some of the
power-tripping. You mentioned a certain municipality
was pretty much being run like a dictatorship, thats
where it seems to me that your taking the whole thing
to seriously. Just my opinion, don't take it too
seriously. ( i left myself open for one there lol )

[toe]

JFree.... The remedies all lie as the sole resposibility of the ratepayers. There is no Ombudsman; there are helpful Municipal advisors in the Dep't of Municipal Affairs; but they are not lawyers and will not forward details of specific situations.
A ratepayers solutions are convincing fellow voters to support specific candidates; putting your name forth though nomination papers; voicing your opinion to those who will listen, carrying allegations forward through the legal system at your own cost and peril.
The obstacles are small community politics; apathy; family and friend support relationship, jealosy, envy, low priority, refusal to become involved and on and on.
And thus in some communities and municipalities there is a compelling case for amalgamation into much larger units to breakdown those impediments to a more healthy political environment.

[toe]

Remember: Amalgamation is no longer a dirty word.

If that doesn't get many responses; then voters are becoming more open minded.

[haveapulse]

It is all part of the human equasion, and regretably part of every group dynamics. Toe in or toe out; complacency is also a contribution.

[toe]

I acidentally posted this in a different topic; and it is more applicable here. Someone asked what I was getting at; and I was so keen I didn't read the context of the question

toe posted Jan 17, 2012 18:22
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I desire to receive exactly the same treatment that Council gives to their friends and family relations. I expect accountability from the reeve and council members whose sole job is to manage the affairs on behalf of all the ratepayers they represent.
I do not expect perfection; in fact if it is evident that any person is sincere and honest; the quickest "I'm sorry; will try to never make that mistake again" is overkill.
I will not tolerate bullying tactics, deliberate acts of abuse of power or intimidation.
I hope for long term plans so that at least some disasters and recurring incident possibilities will not have to reacted to under the stress of emergency situations.
If I were Tom; I would pray that ratepayers take more interest in their business affairs being conducted by their elected representatives; and that as ratepayers we might make council members jobs easier by sharing ideas for their consideration. I have not ever considered service as a council member to be a thankless job. Its more like a public service duty to make a contribution to society for a period of time. It is an increasing difficult job that requires almost extreme research; thought and extensive consultation with both extremes as well as those who might seem cynical, or seem apathetic or might appear to wish not to be bothered.
I would require that council members check their hatchets outside the council chambers and that the council members realize that around that table the peoples business is to be conducted in a respectful manner; within the duties and responsibilities conferred by the Municipal Act and the Local Government Act, the current bylaws of the municipality and the resolutions passed by a majority of the quorum present. Everyone at council and every ratepayer should know from the beginning that the only authority to act stems from those 3 or 4 sources above.
It would be an extremely serious matter to enter into a deliberate conflict of interest; approach council on behalf of yourself or a friend; and then participate in making favorable decisions using your council position.
I would want to have the best possible persons hired as employees and staff; spell out what council wishes them to be responsible for, and once a year (or so) have an evaluation and basicalling either give them a bonus or let them go.
I expect that council members are not supplementing their earning by creating jobs for themselves. That is against the Municipal Act.
Especially I would expect Council members to be prepared and informed for meetings so that they may contribute to the process of coming to a reasoned best decision at the time.

I would not stand for anything less than tendering such things as fuel supplies when there two or more businesses who deliver locally; and for smaller items that does not make sense to tender not favor one business over another.
All graft and Christmas presents would be put in a pile and drawn for at something like the annual ratepayers meeting. And there should be at least one opportunity a year to publically express what is on a ratepayers mind. If it takes a free "appreciation supper" then that is not a waste of money. Everyone has to eat; and the ratepayers paid for food one way or another.
I want more representation from 50% of the residents who are under represented, meaning women. There presence and perspectives displayed around a council table; and will change that attitude and demeanor and all in a poitive way. And there are good reasons to encourage the expertise and representation of commercial business men who may well be financing 88% of a municipalities tax revenues.
Council meetings should be open; the visitors gallery filled with interested people; and a closed circuit monitor connected to an RM' high speed internet connection. And anyone during office hours should be able to take a picture of the minute book; financial statements and expenses paid out or have a photocopy for basically the cost of the paper (if any charge at all). An even better solution would be to have anyone who desired; to automatically receive an e-mailed copy at no charge; or be able to access it through the internet
It all boils down to everyone being pleasant; treated with respect and (basically) everything that does not have privacy issues being provided as freely as a glass of water.
I demand elections and votes arising from petitions for a referendum to be held as required by law. And that right should not come at the personal expense of $2901 because a council relied on the SARM legal advise that contained not one shred of sound advice in the 5 agruments that the lawyer advised could be argued. (Four of the five possible arguments were ended by the SARM lawyer admitting "But that doesn't apply in this case" The Judge ignored the 5th bogus potential argument.)

Votes should be held without the influence of "security forces" present. A council is only charged with setting a date for a referendum vote and hiring a returning officer. (and when requested appointing two "representatives" (scrutineers)). Council must then let the returning officer appoint the election officials; which may include a constable. (The ratepayers can later discuss whether society has deteriorated to necessitate rural neighbors to have effectively "cops" in the polling station, and security cameras over every shoulder in an RM office.). At the end of the day all parties must accept the outcome of the vote.
I would sincerely hope for ratepayers to realize that they are ultimately responsible for the governance they get. Good and best won't happen very often if you do not have the full pool of ratepayers that are willing to invest their time. And that is where the amalgamation word deserves to be seriously considered as we frequently deal and commute to numerous municipality everyday.
Remember you asked me; and I literally could go on for another couple of pages.


Now I would ask each one of the rest of you exactly the same question as directed to me.

What do you expect?
IP: Logged
Edit?

toe posted Jan 17, 2012 18:24
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And I missed saying that I desire absolutely everyone to receive the same treatment as I have personally requested.

[sumdumguy]

Municipal officials should be held to the strictest
code of ethics. They are given a position of trust.

If they use their position to benefit from insider
information, all of the inside deals should be
reversed and the infraction publicized.

[Jfreedom]

I would agree with you Toe on the almaganation
issue that the time has come for it to happen. The
boundaries were drawn up over 100 years ago
and times have changed . I do worry that it could
get to big but a 3 or 4 to one ratio would work .I
also agree with who ever said about term limits
after ten years on council even good people
carry to much baggage . I have 12 years in and
it's time for me to go as I find myself starting to
have grudges against people and I used to loath
the councillors that were like that