Adjustments have been proposed to Rocky View County’s (RVC) electoral boundaries, presented to council at a meeting Oct. 25. After some discussion, the document was tabled by a vote of 6-2, with opposition from Councillor Margaret Bahcheli and Reeve Greg Boehlke. Administration will present the revised document again on Nov. 22.
“The last major electoral boundary review was conducted in 2000, and since then, the total population of the County has increased 33 per cent,” said Karen Jiang with RVC’s legislative services. “Since 2010, the County has gone through four annexations that resulted in boundary changes which are currently not reflected in the electoral boundaries bylaw.”
In June, council adopted a Terms of Reference outlining the scope for the first phase of the review. This phase focused on balancing out the County’s population for more effective representation, and has resulted in a revised Electoral Boundary Bylaw proposing a council comprised of either seven or nine electoral divisions. A reeve would still be appointed from amongst the councillors in accordance with the current County governance structure.
While both structures meet the review’s Terms of Reference, Jiang said a seven-person council is the most effective number of elected officials for a County with a current estimated population of 42,210 and would provide a more statistically viable option over a nine-person council, like RVC’s current structure. This option also includes a cost savings of approximately $667,400 throughout a four-year electoral term and better boundary alignments.
“We have four divisions that deviate greatly from the population average, so why not just jumble those a little bit and keep the nine divisions?” said Councillor Lois Habberfield. “I understand some people will have considerably more people or a bit less, those council members, even though they have less people to represent, they do serve on all the various committees we have, and I think that’s important.”
To date, the County has not received a legal challenge regarding effective representation, but Jiang said the current population deviation situation leaves RVC susceptible to increased legal and reputational risks as residential growth continues to occur.
A public information session will be held to inform residents of the proposed boundary changes prior to third reading of the bylaw. However, to be in effect for the next general municipal election, any adoption of changes to the boundaries must be endorsed by a municipal bylaw no later than April 20, 2017.
“These are big, big decisions,” said Councillor Liz Breakey. “I’ll be very interested in listening to the input from the public.”
The second phase of the review will be conducted after October 2017 with a new Terms of Reference, and will examine the County’s model of governance.
