Elbow Valley’s current councillor says she’s up for one more round.
Margaret Bahcheli declared her intention to seek re-election in Rocky View County’s Division 3 in this fall’s municipal election.
“The circle’s just not quite finished. We’ve moved things along in the last three years and we’re making progress in terms of projects and financial analysis, but there’s still a long way to go,” said the former lawyer and financial analyst.
With a law degree, bachelor of science degree and a masters of business administration, Bahcehli says her legal and financial background are her strong suits having worked for the Calgary law firm of Burnet Duckworth Palmer, NOVA Corporation and TD Bank. She was also a financial advisor for the Canadian Bankers Association before her shift into local politics.
“Before the last election (in 2010), I saw the county going through a massive upheaval in terms of change. And I thought they could probably use some of these skills that are taken for granted at a certain level in the business community like risk management, business plan analysis, project analysis and financial analysis,” she said, adding that it did not feel like work for her because she “lives and breathes this stuff.”
One of Bahcheli’s goals in 2010 was to develop a finance committee, which would enable better transparency to help in making decisions about future development. She said the process of getting it approved has been “long and frustrating” as the terms of reference have not yet been brought before council.
The County should strive to have clear and easy-to-understand financial statements, she said, which she will continue to pursue if granted a second term.
“I find most of the complaints, most of the upset and frustration in the community are usually because of people not feeling they have enough information, not understanding what the numbers are and I’ll tell you, the numbers change a lot.”
She added that if she was re-elected, she wants to continue to open up the lines of communication between residents, councillors and County staff.
“I think that when people are given the same information, generally, they will come to the same conclusions. So when you have a lot of splintered communities and east versus west, it’s because you’ve got poor information sharing.”
With development and debt weighing heavily on the next election, Bahcheli says “of course the debt needs to come under control” but the trend for the way some previous councillors look at approving development is “mind-blowing.” In her next term, Bahcheli said she wants to continue to push the importance of project analysis, risk management and cost analysis when approving developments.
“Our (the County’s) accounting is not project based. If you have a particular project, you will never know if you break even. Unless you know you’re running things properly – it’s either break even or there’s a net contributor - then you’re setting yourself up for really horrific surprises if you’re not careful,” she said.
“I completely understand that you have to have healthy industry and vibrant economy, but I just couldn’t believe the degree of need to attract anyone and everyone as though every single businessman and endeavour was gold.”
She added proper stormwater plans, water and waste water management and servicing need to be in place before development continues to be approved.
“This is an absolutely fantastic place to live,” she said, adding that her community is made up largely of expatriates who appreciate the views of the mountain, safety, healthy air and a comfortable lifestyle.
“This all has value and we need to protect that. Everybody wants to feel safe. Everybody wants to know that things are being looked after. And that’s partly what I thought I could bring to the table for my division.”
