By Kevin J Sabo For the Advance
The Town of Castor had their regular council meeting on Sept. 24.
A public hearing was held on bylaws 1062 and 1063. Both bylaws are about revising the current Intermunicipal Development Plan with Paintearth County and establishing an Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework with the county.
The public hearing was an opportunity for residents to come to the council and ask questions or air concerns about these bylaws.
These public hearings are held as a requirement of the often-mentioned Municipal Government Act (MGA) and are designed to aid in the transparency of local government. However, this mechanism allowing transparency in government doesn’t work if people do not engage in it.
The Town Council of Castor meets the second and fourth Monday of every month at 7 p.m., and the general public are invited to attend to see what is going on. The public hearings regarding specific bylaws are posted on the Town of Castor website, which is updated regularly.
The bylaws council enact under the authority of the MGA have the possibility of affecting everyone in the community and can have a bearing on what tax money is spent on, or more problematically, how much tax money is going to be coming out of the taxpayer pockets.