By Kevin J. Sabo
For the Advance
The County of Paintearth is moving to harmonize several of its policies and bylaws.
Presented to council during the Nov. 24th meeting was Draft Bylaw 692-20, the Procedure Bylaw. County of Paintearth Administration asked for and received first reading for the bylaw.
“Basically, it’s just tightening up a few things,” said assistant Chief Administrative Officer Brenda Hepp.
“Brownlee (law firm) has reviewed it, and they noted some discrepancies between the policy and the bylaw.”
Changes presented in the bylaw move to harmonize the Procedure Bylaw, the associated policy, and the council code of conduct.
“All three of these documents have consistency through them now,” said Hepp.
The procedure bylaw sets out procedures and practices for council, council committees, and other bodies to follow in their work with the County of Paintearth.
Examples of items that fall under the purview of the bylaw include timelines on ratepayers requesting to present as a delegation before council and the amount of time they may give during same presentation, though it is noted that the times listed are at the discretion of the chair.
Also updated during the meeting was policy AD 003, the policy dealing with communications, media relations, and social media.
“This was the other Brownlee had reviewed for us,” said Hepp.
“There’s a new section on external communication standards.”
The policy covers areas such as confidentiality and freedom of information requests.
Another matter brought before council, under the correspondence section of the agenda, was a draft 2021 budget for the Coronation Memorial Library and their request to the County for $7,500.
The library receives approximately $14,000 a year from the Town of Coronation, and another $8,500 from the Province.
Projected revenue for the Coronation library is $50,000, coming from a variety of sources including the County of Paintearth.
Total expenses for the 2021 year are approximately $55,000.