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January 2016
Celebrating 20 Years of Service to Our Communities!
La Broquerie Terminates Administrator On December 9, the RM of La Broquerie Council voted unanimously to terminate their chief administrative officer Rachel Fournier. Fournier, who started in the office as an office clerk back in 2009, was hired as chief administrator six months earlier, in May. In a recorded vote, the RM of La Broquerie council voted unanimously in favour of terminating her employment effective December 7. The municipality appointed Ginette Tétrault, Assistant CAO as Interim CAO, effective immediately and advertised for the position of Chief Administrative Officer.
Dawson Trail Dispatch
Ombudsman Report Finds Problems in RM of De Salaberry By Marianne Curtis The Manitoba Ombudsman has found that the RM of De Salaberry made several mistakes while pursuing a local improvement project to install a low-pressure sewage system in St. Malo. In a recent report, the Ombudsman released their findings after conducting an investigation initiated after eight seasonal residents raised concern about how the municipality handled the installation of a $1.14 million low-pressure sewage system, secured funding and allocated the costs for the project. The lengthy report reviewed the municipality’s administrative practices regarding record keeping and meeting minutes, transparency when tendering and awarding contracts and concerns about conflict of interest. The issue first surfaced in 2004 after several lot owners who won property in a cottage draw expressed interest in a low-pressure system. Initial response by cottage owners was they did not want the project. It resurfaced in 2010, when a petition with 49 signatures was presented to council. As a result, the RM decided to proceed with the project to service 100 lots in the area between Lake St. Malo and Gooselin Road. To offset the cost a levy would be charged against the properties. While council later denied that the petition was the basis of the project, the Ombudsman report has determined that council denied it only after residents questioned its validity. “Based on the information we reviewed, the petition did not meet sufficiency requirements of the Municipal Act,” the report stated. Further issues were found during the municipal board hearing stage where council voted on the project’s borrowing bylaw. When the borrowing bylaw went for a third reading, the result was a tie vote. According to the Municipal Act, a tie vote defeats the bylaw or resolution. It also states that council cannot revisit the matter until a year has passed. Council attempted to pass it again on June 25. “Confusion over a vote of this importance calls into question the legitimacy of the project,” the report continued. It was also noted that first and second readings were done without a recorded vote. Furthermore, the report found that two councillors were in direct conflict of interest. One councilor owns land in the local improvement area, while the other council was alleged to be in conflict because his brother owns one of the two local businesses that were pre-qualified to undertake sewer work for the municipality. “We believe that because the councilor owned land in the local improvement area, he had a conflict of interest,” the report reads. “He did not declare this or recuse himself from discussion or votes on this project.” In the second case, the Ombudsman found that when a family member does business with a municipality, a municipal office holder must avoid perception of bias and preference by declaring a conflict and recusing themselves, something that was not done in this case. At the conclusion of their investigation, the Ombudsman made nine recommendations, including that the RM provide all taxpayers affected by the project with an updated fact sheet on the project. The municipality is also expected to improve accountability and transparency, by posting their minutes and hearings in better locations, sends out notices by registered letter and keeps a list of whom these notices are sent to. The reporter also recommended that the RM of De Salaberry update tendering policies, procedure policies, conflict of interest policies and undergo training to better understand legislative and policy requirements.