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News Advertiser
MARCH 3, 2021
www.NewsAdvertiser.com
Village of Ryley Councillor Disqualified Following Court Ruling Michelle Pinon News Advertiser It took a court ruling before Nikita Lee was forced to legally step down from his position as a councillor in the Village of Ryley. The Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta heard the case of the Village versus Mr. Lee on November 20, 2020, and issued its official ruling on February 19, 2021. In that ruling, the Honourable Madam Justice S. Leonard, stated, “This is an application by the Village of Ryley for an order declaring that Nikita Lee, an elected Councillor for the Village, is disqualified from serving as a Councillor and that his position is therefore vacant. The Village’s position is that following his election, Mr. Lee became disqualified from remaining on the Council due to his failure to pay the Village taxes and utilities. The Village claims that the failure to pay taxes made him ineligible for nomination as a candidate under Section 22 of the Local Authorities Election Act, RSA 2000, cL-21 (the LAEA).” Mr. Lee had argued the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta did not have jurisdiction to hear the matter because the Village’s application was not made within the nomination period and the LAEA only required him to remain eligible on nomination day. While Lee was current on his taxes at the time of his nomination in September of 2017, he fell into arrears following the municipal election on October 16, 2017. Both parties did not dispute the fact that he did not pay any taxes and utilities between September 16, 2017 and November 18, 2019. Glen Hamilton-Brown, Chief Administrative Officer for the Village of Ryley said that during a review of taxes in the fall of 2019 he discovered Lee had an overdue tax bill. That bill was just over $3,000. He questioned staff why this wasn’t brought up the previous year and they said they were under the This Weeks Numbers belief that councillors only had to be current on Friday, February 26, 2021 Saturday, February 27, 2021 their taxes at the time of 6 16 23 26 39 40 50 11 9 25 27 29 39 41 22 nomination. EXTRA: 4159494 EXTRA: 4195995 “They didn’t understand the year before that, Friday, February 26, 2021 Saturday, February 27, 2021 in fact, this was the case. 11 17 19 22 27 31 40 38 11 15 16 20 46 49 17 So as soon as I found out I EXTRA: 4195995 EXTRA: 4159494 took it to council, including Councillor Lee. I took
it to the next council meeting on the fifth of November…So, what happened when I informed them in a closed session of the circumstances, the way the law is written, if in fact it’s true, then it’s the duty of the Councillor to resign. If the councillor chooses not to resign then council has a choice to either accept that or to ask for the Court of Queen’s Bench to make a decision.” Hamilton-Brown noted that Coun. Lee came in to pay his tax bill at the Village office on November 19. During that evening’s council meeting he asked Lee if he considered himself to be disqualified and if he was going to resign. “And he said, no I am not. And I asked council, what do you say? And council said we request that you apply to the Court of Queen’s Bench.” The Village’s application was submitted to the court in February of 2020. A court date was scheduled for March, but was delayed due to Covid-19, and rescheduled to November 20, 2020, when the case was heard. The ruling was issued on February 19, 2021. In his response to the decision, Hamilton-Brown stated, “I am proud of the fact they, (council) made that decision because it’s the right thing to do. I’m not saying it’s the right thing to do not because it’s my personal opinion. It’s the right thing to do because the court’s decision proves it’s the right thing to do.” Mayor Terry Magneson said the decision to take the matter to the Court of Queen’s Bench was a “difficult one”, but that “we had no choice because if we had not gone forward with that process the remaining members of council are contravening the MGA. So, we are basically, we are bound by our position to follow its rules.” Magneson said it was unfortunate this had to happen three years into the term, and the biggest downfall was not being able to move forward and get things done in the community. Lee maintained all along that he hadn’t done anything wrong and that he didn’t pay his taxes for personal reasons. “If it was for personal reasons, we don’t know what the personal reasons are,” said Magneson. With just over eight months to go until the next general election, the Village is asking Municipal Affairs to allow them to forego a by-election. “We don’t know at this point in time if there’ll be a by-election. It will depend what the Minister has to say. We don’t know how long it will take, but it’s up to them right now.” Municipal Affairs Press Secretary McKenzie Kibler stated: • A councillor who is disqualified under section 174 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA) is still eligible to be nominated in the next general election in the municipality if, at the time of nomination, the individual meets the eligibility requirements set out in the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA) which includes: being eligible to vote in that election and has been a resident of the local jurisdiction and the ward, if any, for the six consecutive months immediately preceding nomination day • Section 22 provides a list of reasons for ineligibility, one of which is an indebtedness to the municipality for taxes in default exceeding $50. Nominations for the Municipal General Election on October 18 is currently open, and will remain so until September 20. Attempts to contact Lee were unsuccessful as he does not have a public listing. As part of Justice Leonard’s decision she stated that the Village is entitled to “party to party” costs. As to the total amount of expenses to the town, Hamilton-Brown said he is currently in the process of gathering that information for the court. If Lee does not pay those costs, Hamilton-Brown said it is his understanding the Village could transfer the amount owing on to Lee’s taxes, and if they aren’t paid that eventually his property could be seized.
Long-time BTPS Employee Retires Buffalo Trail Public Schools Submitted After 13 years as the Secretary Treasurer/CFO, Mr. Bob Brown has decided to retire from his position. Bob Brown is known for keeping the division and all of our schools on track with their budget processes. In his 13 years, we have had 13 successful annual financial audits, which speaks volumes about his work. Mr. Brown attended his last Board meeting this week and the Board expressed their deep gratitude and appreciation of all that he has accomplished for our division. He has led the financial department through some tough budget times. His easy going manner and focus on supporting students will be missed in the division. Bob is also known for his collection of fancy cars and we know he will be able to spend more time enjoying them in his retirement.
