'All Reeves Rise in Rocky View'
Rocky View County (RVC) has made it official: The chief elected officers of the county will once again be known as Reeve and Deputy Reeve.
The change comes after council passed third and final reading of its amendments to the Electoral Boundaries and Council Composition Bylaw at the April 25 regular meeting.
Councillors initially decided to revert back to the traditional titles after RVC council’s organizational meeting on Oct. 25, 2022, but did not pass first reading of the motion to do so until earlier this year, at the Jan. 24 meeting.
“This has been a bit of chitchat with so many people, between council; between our constituents,” Division 3 Coun. and Mayor (now Reeve) Kissel said at the time the change was first proposed. “We are rural, and we are working our way to urban. But I really think that we kind of got a little bit lost when we changed to mayor.”
Under the Municipal Government Act, because the change of titles represent a fundamental change to the Electoral Boundaries and Composition Bylaw – which governs local elections and spells out the functions of elected officials – it had to wait 60 days before coming into effect to allow local residents to raise concerns, if they had any.
According to RVC Legislative Coordinator Michelle Mitton, no objections or petitions from residents were received on the issue after the initial motion passed at the Jan. 24 meeting.
Councillors then voted during the April 25 meeting on second and third readings, passing the changes unanimously. After third reading, the change came into effect automatically.
Division 6 Coun. and Deputy Reeve Sunny Samra said he supported his colleagues’ decision to revert back to the traditional titles.
“We (Reeve Kissel and I) are temporary, and the post is permanent,” he said.
Kissel said she was also pleased with the change.
“I look forward to this change, and I will tell you why,” she said. “Because nobody has a clue what to call us. Sunny and I go out to something, and it is like, ‘What do we call you? We don’t know. Where are you at?' So I think it will be good to finally put this to rest.”
RVC council passes motion to increase public notice circulation area for proposed developments
During the April 25 meeting of Rocky View County (RVC) council, all councillors voted to approve a change in the circulation area for all public notices from the County.
Instead of varying standards of between 800 metres and 1,600 metres applied unevenly in rural and hamlet areas based on the estimated impact of any proposed developments being considered, the new public notification zones within hamlets will be all residences, public buildings, and businesses within 800 metres of a proposed development. Within rural areas of the county, it will be within 1,600 metres of a proposed development.
The change was brought forward in a jointly sponsored motion by Division 4 Coun. Samanntha Wright and Division 5 Coun. Greg Boehlke, and is in response to several public complaints from residents who felt they were insufficiently informed about any major developments in their area because they happened to fall just outside of the public notice circulation as it previously existed in Rocky View County.
The change, passed unanimously by council, should allow more residents to be informed when new developments are brought forward within the county.
New local improvement taxes for Prince of Peace community
Also on April 25, Rocky View County (RVC) council unanimously approved two new local improvement taxes for Prince of Peace to pay for recent upgrades to local water systems.
Property owners within Prince of Peace will pay back $982,308 of the cost of the water upgrades through a yearly special tax levied over the next 25 years. This is the amount of the loan the County took out to cover the costs of the upgrade.
Each lot owner will pay $389.52 in additional taxes annually to the County as part of their regular property taxes, which will raise $68,166 toward the amount owing on the loan.
In addition, RVC council approved the levying of a local improvement tax of $11,397 annually for 25 years for Prince of Peace Sage Properties Rehabilitation, which includes the former Christian school in the community, to pay for its recent water infrastructure upgrades there.
County posts $10.7 million surplus in 2022
After undergoing a recent audit, Rocky View County (RVC) council was informed by its administration during the April 25 meeting that it has been determined the municipality generated a surplus of $10.7 million in 2022.
According to documents provided by RVC’s Financial Services department, the majority of the surplus was generated by better-than-anticipated revenue derived from investment income and from license and permit fees. The funds generated in these areas amounted to $7.9 million in additional revenue to the County. The other $2.8 million was derived from cost savings from unfilled position vacancies, software upgrades, and renegotiating IT contract services.
Council voted to transfer the surplus to its Tax Stabilization Reserve.
