Dust control

[madcow]

I see there is a national trend here for municipal government idiocy,way to go Canada!I have an abandoned house at each end of my farm and one on a half acre lot in the middle,next to my house. I've been after the county to either get the derelict owners to maintain their property or lower my taxes. No results. BUT. A moose passes through my fence and tears the wire off six posts Oct 3rd,I have 12 cows on the road( I'm pretty much in the middle of nowhere) and I get served with papers to appear in Provincial court Oct 31 on charges of violating the county's 'animals and fowl at large by-laws'. I really love those people........NOT !

[kpb]

The county council that rules my part of Alberta is pretty much the same type you'd get if you lived in any backcountry American region. They pretty much do what they want, give what they can to their friends, conduct a lot of their meetings behind closed doors and generally act like a rural council from the Deep South. We should start calling our reeve Big Daddy or, maybe, Bubba.

The latest fiasco was to summarily fire our long-serving commissioner at a cost of over $250,000 in severance. Because this wasn't handled properly, the taxpayers are on the hook for a huge chunk of cash.

Before Emerald starts talking about grassroots democracy here and turfing the scoundrels through voting them out, I would point out that most of the voters in this county voted against the expensive building of a new county building a few years ago but the council went ahead and built it anyways. Most of that council was turfed at the next election but the new bunch have about the same level of integrity and maybe slightly less competence than the old.

County councils in Alberta have always been all about getting your friends' driveways gravelled and giving subdivision approval to your real buddies. Sometimes I think that Alberta, from the provincial government down to the good old boys running the local counties, would be more comfortable in the southern U.S. than in Canada.


kpb

[cowman]

Well kpb that's politics! It's a dirty business at the best of times and it sure brings to mind the old saying " It's not what you know but who you know"!
Now I will say that my own councillor does her best to take care of her constituents, but like anything else she has to go along to get along! I guess that is why she has been a councillor for 16 years. It can be a pretty tricky balancing act?
I assume you are in Mountain View county? If you are, apparently the blood letting isn't over quite yet! More people are going down the road or so I heard from your Ag fieldman!

[cowman]

An elected reeve has absolutely no power on his or her own. They chair council meetings, act as a spokesperson for the county on matters of council if council so wishes but that is it. Don't get hung up on the idea that an elected reeve can change things, they only can do that if the majority of council agrees.
I know about the new county building that was referred to. I also know that some members of councils seem to feel they are elected to 'run' the county. That is incorrect. Council is there to develop policy, make decisions with regard to budgets etc. Once the budget is passed county administration is responsible for carrying out the terms of the budget and staying within that budget. Councillor as also expected to make decisions on planning matters, serve on various committees and Boards of council etc.
Councillors have no powers with regard to directing staff and an find themselves on the wrong side of the Municipal Government Act if they try and do so.

Councillors are supposed to base their decision making on the overall good of the county, not their respective divisions. An Elected Reeve is never supposed to consider his own area, but base all actions and decisions on the municipality as a whole. In our community the elected Reeve is being seen as a member of TOWN council vs county as he seems to be on the side of the town whenever there is a disagreement over cost sharing.
You don't have to look far to see where council gets the notion they don't have to listen to the people, just take a look at our own government. They pick and choose how they wish to CONSULT with the public, then put their own spin on the results of the consultations !!!

[kpb]

cowman, yes I live in Mountainview and am not surprised to hear that the firing has yet to be finished. I agree with both you and Emerald that the petty politics, friend-favoring and questionable decisions seem to pervade every level of government. I guess, in some ways, it seems worse at the municipal level because it is easy to see how some people are favored when they request subdivision approval and others are declined based, as you said cowman, on who you know and how much you smooze them.

I'm afraid that our local politicians are not responsive to their voters and are basically acting in their own self interest. It's no wonder people give up on voting.

kpb

[kpb]

kpb, it does get discouraging, but the only way to send messages to elected officials is to get involved and recruit people of integrity to run in elections then help get them elected.

[kpb]

cowman, linda etc. how much do your councillors get paid per km for travelling on county business.
The provincial government just raised the per km rate for employee use of private vehicles to .43 per km.
Most municipalities were at .45 long before the price of gasoline increased so I am betting they are around .50 by now.

[cakadu]

Last I heard it was 50 cents/km, but they have had that rate for at least 2 years and certainly long before any of the gas hikes we've seen recently.

So, I want to make sure that I have this abundantly clear....when the councillor in my division gets on the radio and says that HE is not in favor of an elected reeve, then he is doing his job?

I thought that the "job" of any elected official was to see to it that the wishes of constituents were brought forth to the table. When it comes to the good of the county as a whole, - personal ideas and/or agendas of an individual councillor do not and should not enter into the equation. If the majority of residents in the division are telling him that they want an elected reeve, then does it not behoove him to work to that effect and not go against the wishes of the people that he has been elected to serve?

How many more times are we going to have to tell this council that we wish to move towards an elected reeve, before they will get the message that it is what the county residents want?

Cowman, and others, in all your years when has going along to get along ever brought sustainable results? Is it really such a "scratch my back" world?

[cakadu]

It sounds as though that individual councillor needs to be replaced next election, if in fact, the majority of ratepayers voted for an elected Reeve.

An elected Reeve is not always the answer, it is still a popularity contest at election time so it is up to the voters to ensure that they know the candidates, know where they stand on important issues facing the county etc., and also be aware of any help they may be getting from special interest groups that may expect to have influence after the election !

[cowman]

Linda: Without a doubt! If you want to succeed in just about any business it is definitely "one hand washes the other"!
Sometimes it is very blatant and sometimes subtle? Lots of times I have "bought" jobs with a case of whiskey and one time even a pair of cowboy boots! That's just how it is. It's business.
In politics if a councillor is totally contrary and votes against the other guys when their pet project comes up it is unlikely to get any support? So in effect the councillor has become totally ineffective!
I too, was a little bit miffed when your councillor questioned the elected reeve thing in the papers. I guess he doesn't understand what democracy means either?
I see the elected reeve as a positive? He will be full time and hopefully will keep a check on the CAO? I believe the CAO takes his marching orders from council and not the other way around?
Emerald: When you say councillors are supposed to act for the overall county technically you are probably right, but in politics you get elected by what you do for the people who get you there? You take care of the home boys and they'll continue to put you back in!