It has been four months since eight new councillors were elected to Rocky View County Council. From what I’ve seen so far, it is a change for the positive. We do not always agree on issues, however, there is a high level of respect and acceptance of differing opinions.
We chose the only returning councillor to be our Reeve – Division 6’s Greg Boehlke – with Division 5’s Jerry Gautreau in the role of Deputy Reeve. Given that we are venturing into the age of the mandated Growth Management Board, we thought it prudent to have some experience at the helm - at least in our first year, as we learn the ropes.
The Growth Management Board (Calgary Regional Partnership) will bring about some changes with regards to regional servicing and land-use. How that will play out is still unknown, but agreements with our neighbouring counties must be completed in the next two years. Meaning lots of meetings with other municipalities.
The learning curve has been steep and the training intense, with lots of hours spent at the County offices dealing with the budget, attending workshops, and discussing the direction we’d like to see the County head in.
There have been a lot of laughs, namely at our own expense, as we try and figure out how to navigate procedurally. I’m glad to say, we’re finding our groove. We have made a commitment to “debrief” after every Council hearing so that we can take the opportunity to learn from what we did well and where we could have improved. I really believe this is expediting our learning process and helping to create some real team-building.
One thing is for sure - this Council wants to see change. From improving customer service levels to making things more digitally accessible to streamlining and creating effective policy, this Council is committed to making positive changes.
I have put forth a motion to create a voters’ list. Hopefully my next update will have something positive to report. In the coming months, I will bring forward a motion regarding the creation of an audit/finance committee. I’d also like to see an organizational review to make sure the County is operating at maximum efficiency. There's lots to do and we are working diligently to make sure it gets done in a timely
fashion.
*Please note - due to a miscommunication with the editor about deadlines, my submission was omitted from the paper.