Vol. I • №19 • Tuesday, August 25, 2015
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LOCAL NEWS AND VIEWS Covering the news from Lavoy through to Mannville, Alberta Volume 1 • Tuesday, August 25, 2015 • Issue 19
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Minister Gives Thumbs Up To Village Of Innisfree
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fter more than a year of hard work on the part of the Village of Innisfree Council and administration, the Alberta Minister of Municipal Affairs in a letter addressed to the village, says he is “satisfied” with the accomplishments the village has made. Last August 27, the village was ordered by Municipal Affairs to carry out a battering list of directives after an inspection conducted under Section 571 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA) which considered the village to be managed in an “irregular, improvident or improper manner.” The 26 directives assigned to the village to be complete by June 30, 2015, contained numerous issues including that Council was to develop and approve a 3-year financial plan for 2015 to 2017, of which would place the village’s unrestricted accumulated surplus in a surplus position; fully fund all deferred revenues no later than December 31, 2015; and discontinue the practice of applying maximum tax amounts. Number five on the directive list ordered that, according to Section 153 of the MGA which specifies the duties of councillors, the Minister directed that all Village of Innisfree Council members fully comply with the order. In directive six he also ordered all Council members to attend a Roles and responsibilities workshop by the end of 2014. Other directives included undertaking a complete review of all active bylaws that were identified as potentially at risk and where practical, pass new
bylaws in accordance with the legislative requirements; provide the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) with an annual written performance evaluation; Council and Council Committees to conduct their meetings in public, unless there is specific legislative authority to close the meeting to the public. Directive 21 ordered the CAO to immediately establish a separate bank account and to deposit any and all grant funds received to date from the provincial and federal governments that have not yet been used for their approved purpose under the respective funding agreements. The Minister further directed the CAO to remove funds from this account only when the requirements for expending the funds under the respective funding agreements have been met. In directive 22 the Minister ordered that Council refund the difference in the 2013 municipal tax levy and the amount determined with the reduced municipal tax rate to the property owners who did not have a portion of the 2013 municipal taxes forgiven or who had less forgiven than was accurately calculated. The final directive was that Council and the CAO prepare and submit a report to be delivered the Minister’s office by the tenth of each month, outlining the village’s progress with the directives, including all council meeting minutes and financial reports. In a letter addressed to the Mayor of Innisfree Deborah McMann from the Minister’s Office dated August 6, 2015,
Village of Innisfree Mayor Deb McMann holds the letter of satisfaction from the Minister of Municipal Affairs stating the Village has met all of the required directives as outlined a year ago. it stated, “After reviewing the information, I am satisfied that the directives have been accomplished as expected following the municipal inspection.” The letter went on to say that the Minister appreciated the hard work and effort that the Village Council and administration undertook to address the matters raised in the inspection. “I encourage you to continue utilizing the best practices that formed the basis for the directives.”
In a Hiway 16 News interview Mayor McMann said, “The process has taken some time to complete and council has worked diligently to meet the requirements from the Minister.” She added that council would like to thank the residents of the village for the kind words of support during the process. “Council members will continue to maintain the standards required by the Minister and our government,” reassured Mayor McMann.