Councillors are supposed to be leaders, not managers, delegates to the recent Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities annual convention were told.
“Nowhere (in legislation) will you find the statement that says councils are elected to manage,” local government expert George Cuff told them.
He described a meeting of a “culvert committee,” in which it took the entire council and the public works foreman to view a plugged culvert and decide that the best course of action was to, yes, unplug it.
He told them they don’t need to be involved in “administrivia.”
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“Your task is to lead and ensure the survivability of your community,” he said. “Your mandate is to govern as a whole, not individually … to work collegially with other members of council.
“So often it seems to me that we’re locked into this mind set that our job is to manage the municipality.”
Cuff is a former mayor of Spruce Grove, Alta., and former president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
He encouraged RMs to work together more to enhance communities. He said it is “ludicrous” that municipalities don’t do a better job of sharing public works equipment, administration and recreation facilities.
Councilors should ask After council meetings how their decisions helped the community.
“Otherwise, you’re simply filling the seat,” Cuff said.
He said rural municipal councils used to focus on public works and some fire and emergency services, but social, recreational and cultural services are increasingly in demand, particularly from younger residents.
Cuff said councils need broad, conceptual thinkers who can provide the leadership to keep communities alive.
“Leadership is not approving the accounts payable,” he said.
Your administrator can do that. Leadership is talking about where else do we want to position this community.”
He encouraged councils to set goals and keep in touch with what the citizens want.
He said active, updated websites are critical, so the flow of information goes both ways.
karen.briere@producer.com
