Looking for a career in the Crowsnest Pass

The jobs just keep coming, the municipality is now looking for a Community peace Officer amongst many other available positions. I hope this means one of our present officers is leaving,  not that the municipality is increasing to three peace officers.
Any way there sure are a  lot of opportunities with the municipality check it out at the following address:

http://www.crowsnestpass.com/finance-a-administration/employment

Crowsnest Pass Mill rate Bylaw

April 22 there was a special meeting of council, to pass the mill rate bylaw for 2013.
First reading was completed last week at the regular meeting of council on April 16, by a vote of 4-3 (Councilors Gallant, Saje and Saindon opposed)
Yesterday Second reading was moved by Councilor Londsbury without any debate the vote was called and the same result has April 16 occurred.
Third reading was moved by Councilor Gail again without any debate the vote was called and again it was passed by the 4-3 vote.

What does this mean? Mill rate for residential is going up 3.8% non-residential 4.9%.
Will you see a tax increase? maybe, maybe not depending on your assessed value if you value dropped more than 3.8% your tax will actually go down, if it dropped less than 3.8% you will see an increase.
You will find out next week the bills will be in the mail prior to April 30, that will provide the legally required sixty days to the due date June 30.

Reminder: Keep in mind the real due date is June 28th, the 30th is a Sunday. If you miss going into the office on Friday the 28th, you will not be able to go into the office until July 2 when you will find that your bill will have increased by an additional 20%    

Rum Runner Days 2013

Today at the special meeting of council, Myron Thompson informed council that there had been a resurgence of interest in putting on the Rum Runner Days weekend July 18-20, also announcing that Penny Warris will filling the position of Rum Runner Days Co-ordinator.  .

Policy or Politics

This article by feature writer John Pundyk available in this week's  Pass Herald available at http://passherald.ca/  I think it says it all.

There has been lots of healthy discussion these days about local politics, especially now, as our community is being scrutinized because of a petition and by ministerial order. There are significant differences between policy and politics, and knowing these differences usually leads to good politics and good policy – but this only happens in a perfect world. In the real world, policy and politics are in constant conflict. So what are the differences? To put it simply, policy is about ideas. Politics is about interests. Interests can be defined as competing ideas. Hence, politics is about how to put particular ideas into action. In a democratic society like ours, some good ideas and policies often clash with other good ideas dear to other people in our political space. Our community is our political space. Because of the coal mines, past and present, our community is very diverse. Unlike many other small Alberta towns which tend to be quite homogenous in their makeup, we have people who came here to work in the mines from every corner of the world. This may be a little exaggerated, but not much. This is also what makes our community a very interesting place to live. Crowsnest Pass is a community which has always been passionate about politics. Those who study our local history know this to be true. Our different interests are dear to us, whether it is the ski hill, the swimming pool, hockey arena, fire department, old hospital, new hospital, our seniors, our young people, you name it – we are passionate about it. This passion for local politics can be presented to the outside world as something negative. Our propensity to resort to petitions to defend our interests can be interpreted as disruptive behavior. I would argue that while our behaviour can be seen as disruptive, it can also be understood in a positive manner. While we may not be easy to govern, we are a people who care deeply about our community and we are always ready to defend our particular interests. We may not always agree with one another, but we always come together in times of need. One of the reasons I love this community is because of its spirit. Since coming to Canada as a teenager from Poland in 1975, I have lived and worked in every part of our province and I can genuinely say there is no place like the Crowsnest Pass when it comes to generosity and friendliness.

This does not make us saints, we do have our moments, but we are good people. So, while we may be good people, governing us has never been easy and it requires special skill. Not everyone has this skill, and you don’t have to have a lot of schooling to know this. Some people, like Ralph Klein for example, are born to be politicians and know, almost instinctively, what to do. Others hone this skill through trial and error. A good majority of us, however, will simply never make good politicians. Local municipal politics is usually an entry point into our political system and it is here where many an aspiring politician has discovered that this sort of thing is really not for them. Political history shows good policy makers seldom make good politicians. Think about the recent leaders of the federal Liberal party. Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff are both very accomplished university professors with many excellent policy ideas, but neither could connect, politically, with the Canadian public. Much the same is happening in our community today. We have some very good people on our council, but our community has never been in a bigger political mess than it is today. We should not doubt their good intentions to make our community better, but the entire experience has lacked political skill from day one. Today we find ourselves under municipal inspection because we have experienced too much policy work which was not accompanied with the requisite political skills. Writing policy is never enough. People must be sold on the merits of the policy and this is done through politics and politics is all about communication. In a small community like ours, communication is not about announcements or newsletters. Rather, communication is a dialogue and argument on the merits of a particular policy initiative. People need to be brought on board, and the more contentious the policy proposal, the more essential it is that people be brought on board before changes are made. Some, of course, will argue if this is the case then change will never come. Well, in a democratic society, politics is the cost of doing business. Even the best policy is sometimes ditched because it is not politically expedient and the political cost outweighs the benefits of good policy. Given no emergency, gradual change is always preferable to an abrupt and unnecessary upheaval. So while our little community may seem dysfunctional, it really is not. I just see a lot of people standing up for what makes this community great and what makes this community vibrant. The unique spirit and work ethic of the Pass has taken us through many hardships and I believe we will get through this turmoil, and emerge even stronger than before.

Comments

Sorry I have now been contacted by several people whose comments I have not posted in the last few days. I had a problem with my blog account which I believe is now fixed. If you could leave your comments again I would be glad to post them.

Making the numbers work. Option 1, 2 or 3

The following options were presented by administration to council, Option 2 was approved by a vote of 4-3 (Saindon, Gallant and Saje) opposed. First reading was passed Tuesday night and second and third reading will be done Monday 2pm April 22 Special Council Meeting


Option 1: Administration has reviewed the 2013 Operating Budget and provided budgetary reductions to achieve an additional 4% reduction or $ 295,000 decrease in the following areas:
• $ 5,000 reduction to Senior’s Tax Rebate- with assessments similar to 2008 there would be fewer owners qualifying.
• $ 100,0000 reduction to York Creek Capital Project Reserve
• $ 15,000 reduction to Rum Runner Days
• $ 10,000 reduction in Cemetery Expansion
• $ 52,000 reduction in Float and Banners
• $ 57,500 reduction for Albert Stella Memorial Arena
• $ 1,000 for the Centennial Building-Painting exterior
• $ 8,000 reduction for the Passberg Pit
• $ 45,000 reduction for Gravel and Gravel Haul
• $ 25,000 reduction in Sewer Cameraing
• $ 38,250 addition for the Town Rounder
• $ 14,750 reduction in Travel and General Supplies

Option 2: Provides for a tax increase for negative growth of $ 102,000.00 (residential 3.8% and non-residential 4.9%) combined with a budget decrease of $ 193,000. The $ 193,000 proposed decrease could come from the following areas:
• $ 5,000 reduction to Senior’s Tax Rebate- with assessments similar to 2008 there would be fewer owners qualifying.
• $ 100,0000 reduction to York Creek Capital Project Reserve
• $ 10,000 reduction in Cemetery Expansion
• $ 52,000 reduction in Float and Banners
• $ 1,000 for the Centennial Building-Painting exterior
• $ 23,500 reduction for Gravel and Gravel Haul
• $ 25,000 reduction in Sewer Cameraing
• $ 38,250 addition for the Town Rounder
• $ 14,750 reduction in Travel and General Supplies

Option 3: Provides for a $ 193,000 budget reduction (in the areas noted in option 2) and a transfer from MRSR in the amount of $102,000.

Up date on Russell Farmer Interviews with Municipal employees

I hear today that representatives from Russell farmer met with employees from the municipality.
Unfortunately the employees were given very little notice and also met in groups.
That can be a very intimidating setting, depending on the make up of the groups but for any employee that would like a one on one with Russell Farmer they can contact them at the following number and email address, plus they will meet you somewhere other than municipal property

After April the 18th they will not be conducting more one on one interviews in the Pass but they are more than willing to talk to anybody that wishes to provide input just contact them at the phone number or email below leave a message and they will get back to you.

Cell: 403-966-7259

Email: mailto:russ@rfconsulting.ca