Friday, July 26, 2013

Municipal Government – The chance to give back to your community

Hopefully you are enjoying your summer and taking a break from the daily grind.
While you have your feet up at the beach, take a few moments to give some thought to the Municipal Elections being held across Alberta this fall.

Nomination day is September 23, with elections being held for Municipal Councils and School Boards on October 21.   While still a few weeks away, we have been hearing from many candidates in larger centres for some time.

So many of our smaller communities are blessed with such a great group of community volunteers – you folks are what make our communities the great places they are.  Maybe you have thought about running for local office but are not sure you want to make that commitment.

Here are some of my thoughts on local government, in no particular order –

  • It is a significant commitment, in terms of time & effort.  I won’t try to sugar coat it – you would be required to spend some time preparing for and attending meetings – likely more at first, as you get up to speed on many issues.  However the Councils I have been involved with have worked hard collectively to minimize time spent away from family, and individual Councillors have been available to help share the load when required.  Making sure you are prepared ahead of time also lessens your time spent at meetings.
  • Do it for the right reasons.  Have a gripe about something, or have an issue you want to resolve?  Before you make the decision to run for office for just that reason, consider a) what if it can’t be resolved by you as a Councillor, or b) what if it gets resolved at your first meeting.  Municipalities face many challenges & issues, and the best interests of the whole community must be taken into account.  Further, some things are totally out of our hands – they may be a provincial or federal government issue that cannot be dealt with at the municipal level.  Running for Council with a purpose or goal is essential, but running to resolve one issue may not be the right reason.
  • It’s a chance to shape the future of your community.  If you want to create a great community - one your kids & grandkids can be proud to call home - here’s your chance.  The role of Council, simply stated, is to develop policies that best serve the community, find the money to put the policies in place, and hire a CAO to take it from there.  You are not expected to take a turn running the grader, look after the accounts payable, or teach swimming lessons.   You do, however, need to think & act strategically, keeping an eye on what needs to happen in the next 10 – 20 years or more, and not be engrossed in what’s going on next week.  By the way, it helps to have thick skin at times, when your decisions are being called into question by those who are just worried about next week.
  • Are you intrigued & want to look further into this?  In order to prepare yourself to make this important decision, it will be helpful to -
  1. attend a Council Meeting, to get an idea of the issues & the process,
  2. contact a Councillor or your Mayor & get together for a coffee,
  3. have a conversation with the CAO in your community, and
  4. visit the municipal website to review the various strategic plans & bylaws your community has in place.
     Either or all of these will help you learn more & make a good decision.


My personal experience with municipal government has, for the most part, been very positive.  I have appreciated the opportunity to be at the table where decisions are being made that have long term implications for the Town of Killam and our region.

I am excited about the future of our area and of east-central Alberta.  My community is full of volunteers who work hard to make a positive impact.  Municipal Council is no different – it’s just at a more formal level.  We need good community people to take up this task as well, and apathy is not an option.

I would be pleased to speak with anyone considering this step, and of course always appreciate your feedback & comments.


Cheers,

Bud James