Alberta’s Municipal Affairs Minister Leaves Chestermere Council a Long-to-do-list

The city of Chestermere has been managed “improperly, irregularly and improvidently”, according to reports by the province-ordered investigation.

A 200-page inspection report of the city’s governance from October 2021 to September 1, 2022, found several issues and concerns with the current Mayor and council. The report noted an intense division within council and a senior administration tainted by council’s influence, says Calgary Herald reports.

The inspection, which was led by third-party inspector George Cuff, led to a set of 12 directives given to the council. Failure to do so could result in their removal by the province. Report says about 300 people filled a gymnasium at the Chestermere Recreation Center as the results of the investigation was read out.

Cuff said “during the time that we did the review, approximately 60 people left in a year.” He said “one of the core issues that Chestermere faces, quite simply, is that for whatever number of reasons the split evolved in this council and has done nothing but get further entrenched.”

The Minister of Municipal Affairs, Rebecca Schulz @rebeccaschulzab said “they were new to the business of municipal governance when the problems started, but at the same time, the problems have been going on for 18 months now and enough is enough. We need to address them.”

Part of the directives given by Schulz requires the City of Chestermere to, hire an auditing firm to submit outstanding financial statements for the previous two years. The council must also provide a list of municipal land sales since October 2021.

Also, the council is required to review its procedural bylaws and provide an action plan. Submit to the province all code-of-conduct complaints and discontinue exercising power to struggles on council.

The city said it has some “concerns regarding some of the findings in the Cuff report, the process by which the report was arrived at, the recommendations in the report and the directives of the minister…”

The city of Chestermere @citychestermere said in a statement released shortly after the meeting “the city is committed to continuing to provide good government to all of its residents by being a positive environment, a functioning legislative, and administrative body and a competent and effective municipal government in order to properly serve its citizens and the public at large.”

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