When they reconvene on Nov. 30, Rocky View County (RVC) council will once again consider a motion to reinstate the advertising of County business in the Rocky View Weekly newspaper.
At the Nov. 9 meeting, Division 1 Coun. Kevin Hanson introduced a notice of motion for an item that council will discuss and debate on Nov. 30. His proposal calls to re-commence advertisement of RVC’s public notices and service announcements, such as public hearings, subdivision applications, approved development permits and other “matters of significant concern to county residents” in the local newspaper, starting no later than the Rocky View Weekly's Jan. 11, 2022 issue.
“Whereas advertising public notices solely on the County’s website has successfully reached many residents, it has not reached all intended audiences, thereby creating a substandard level of service for some county residents,” Hanson said when introducing his notice of motion.
“…A significant percentage of residents do not have reliable internet access in their residences – especially in Bragg Creek – and…a number of residents have complained it’s much more difficult to locate County public notices and information since RVC stopped posting this information [in the paper].”
Hanson’s notice of motion comes after the previous council voted to discontinue the municipality's advertising in the Rocky View Weekly in July 2020 by approving an amendment to the County’s public notifications bylaw. The reason for council’s decision was because the Municipal Government Act (MGA) allows Albertan municipalities to forego newspaper advertisements in favour of electronic means.
The MGA states the chosen method of advertisement should bring proposed bylaws, resolutions, meetings, and public hearings “to substantially all residents in the area.” In ceasing advertising in the Rocky View Weekly, the County made its website, rockyview.ca, as well as its social media channels the municipality's main method of public notifications for residents.
When the item first came to council in July 2020, the previous council cited the Rocky View Weekly’s three-month hiatus from publishing during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the reasons for no longer advertising in the publication, in addition to cost-saving measures.
The topic came to council again in November 2020, when Hanson and Coun. Samanntha Wright attempted to bring the County’s advertising in the local newspaper back. That motion failed in a 6-3 vote, with Hanson, Wright and Coun. Crystal Kissel providing the sole votes in favour.
During the Nov. 9 meeting, Coun. Al Schule asked if the Nov. 30 motion will include a staff report featuring a breakdown of how much the County used to spend on advertising in the Rocky View Weekly. Hanson replied the County’s previous budget for advertising in the paper was approximately $73,000 a year.
Mayoral term reduction
Another notice of motion introduced at the Nov. 9 meeting included a proposal to reduce the duration of the terms for RVC mayor, as well as council boards, committee chair, and vice-chair positions, from two years to one year.
Coun. Wright introduced the notice of motion, arguing the reduction of council from nine members to seven is one of multiple reasons the length of term for these roles should be a single year instead of two. Council currently votes on which member will serve as RVC's chief elected officials every two years.
“Whereas all council members should be afforded the opportunity to sit on various boards and committees, and to put their names forward to hold various leadership roles, and whereas there is nothing preventing councillors from putting their names forward for the same position year after year…
“and whereas council is now only comprised of seven councillors, there is a greater need to balance the workload…be it resolved the procedure bylaw and the terms of reference for the various boards and committees be amended to reflect one-year terms for the mayor, chair and vice-chair positions,” Wright said.
Wright’s notice of motion will also be discussed at the Nov. 30 meeting.
