Big changes in little Village of Punnichy
Village determining financial position
A new slate of councillors was elected in the November 13th municipal election in the Village of Punnichy.
While Deana Littletent will stay on as Mayor by acclamation, the vote breakdown was relatively close for the three council positions. New councillors Victor Senft (54), Earl Senft (51), and Janice Horvath (45) garnered enough votes to win over incumbents Brenda Kraemer (40) and Wanda Lloyd (38).
Not long after taking their seats, the new council is looking to fill the position of Administrator. They have brought in retired CAO Joanne Hamilton to fill in temporarily while they look for a person to fill the role permanently.
The municipality appears to be having some trouble finding a replacement. Their first call for applications did not produce any viable candidates, so they have advertised a second time.
The Village has been working through a process to determine its financial situation, but it doesn’t look good. Councilor Victor Senft said that other than the temporary CAO, they can no longer afford to pay staff. At 81 years of age, Senft has been volunteering his time and equipment to keep roads clear. They have reduced the number of meetings to one a month to reduce costs.
When asked if there was a point when the Provincial Government would put a person in for oversight, the Ministry of Government Relations responded. “In Saskatchewan, municipalities are considered a level government independent from the provincial government. The province provides the legislative framework through The Municipalities Act (Act) for municipalities to govern local affairs and make decisions on matters within their jurisdiction without provincial oversight. Council has the authority over the hiring and dismissal of the person appointed to the position of the administrator.
Municipal council members are elected by and accountable to the voters of the municipality. While the province maintains the legislative framework of the overall municipal government system, it is not an enforcement agency nor an alternative to mechanisms available to voters in the Act. The Act contains a number of tools voters can use to pursue the level of accountability they desire from their local government. For instance, citizens have the right to attend and observe council meetings, address council in writing or attend a council meeting as a delegate to raise their concerns. Voters can also petition council for a variety of matters, including petitioning for a public meeting to discuss concerns and/or petition for a financial audit or management audit. Additional information on these and other ways to hold council accountable can be found on saskatchewan.ca in the ministry’s document A Citizen’s Guide to Shaping Council Decisions.
The Ministry of Government Relations would not consider intervening into a municipality’s affairs unless all options available to the voters of the municipality as outlined above had been exhausted.”