Local governments in Manitoba are now part of one big happy family.
Just ask Ron Stanger, a town councillor from Carman, and his first cousin Harold Brown, a councillor for the rural municipality of Portage la Prairie.
Last week, their municipal associations – one urban, one rural – agreed to merge into the Association of Manitoba Municipalities as of Jan. 1.
“I think it’s good,” said Stanger. “It’s important to have one voice.”
The 45-year-old Manitoba Association of Urban Municipalities was smaller, he said, and had trouble attracting provincial cabinet ministers to its meetings.
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The 95-year-old Union of Manitoba Municipalities, on the other hand, is known for being able to grab the ear of government, particularly at its bearpit sessions attended by key cabinet members.
Brown said the rural and urban groups sometimes had different views on common problems, and would lobby the provincial government for different solutions.
“Governments being what they are, if they get two dissenting opinions, they tend not to do anything about (the problem),” said Brown.
Wayne Motheral, a farmer from Snowflake, Man., who will be the first president of the new group, said he is committed to making sure both small and large local governments have equal say in policy.
“It’s about time we had one association in Manitoba,” said Motheral, a councillor for the RM of Louise.
The group will help towns and RMs work out common issues, such as urban sprawl, before lobbying provincial government with their shared solutions, he said.
MAUM members voted unanimously for the merger this spring. UMM members were 74 percent in favor.
In addition to more lobbying power, the new group should save money by buying bulk and reducing duplication, supporters say.
