Municipal Alberta
Muniversity Space Going Fast!
Calling all Alberta officials: Next month's Muniversity sessions in Calgary are proving to be immensely popular. Featuring the topics of Public Consultation and Communication with Ian Montgomerie, and Strategic Management with Doug Knight, 40 seats have already been sold for this Oct. 17 offering. At the giveaway price of $95, remaining tickets are sure to go fast. Delay could mean disappointment, so please, register today!
Traffic Violations "Out Of Control"
PICTURE BUTTE -- Calling traffic violations in Picture Butte "almost out of control", Mayor Jon Stevens called for an increased presence by RCMP in the community. Second story down. (Coaldale Sunny South News)
County-Wide Response Team Eyed
VULCAN -- CAO Gary Buchanan wants to create a county-wide emergency measures response team for all the municipalities of Vulcan County. (Vulcan Advocate)
Strip Club Bylaw Bared
AIRDRIE -- From now on, adult entertainment establishments may only set up shop in Airdrie's industrial areas and must first apply to the city for a development permit. (Airdrie Echo)
Chiefs Big On Pricey Trucks
CANMORE -- The Town of Canmore is not alone when it comes to contemplating an upgrade of its fire protection equipment. (Canmore Leader)
CAO Notches Honour
RAYMOND -- Raymond CAO J. Scott Barton has been accepted as a member in the Master Municipal Clerk Academy Program of the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. (IIMC press release hosted on MuniMall)
Cat Bylaw Would Have Claws
DIDSBURY -- Didsbury cat owners are either going to have to keep their cats inside, or tie them up in their own yards -- or they could be trapped and hauled away -- if a proposed bylaw makes it's way through the process. (Didsbury Review)
Town Struts In Limelight
LACOMBE -- The Town of Lacombe is in the running for some prestigious national awards in economic development. (Lacombe Globe)
Interim CAO Takes Helm
SUNDRE -- An interim Chief Administrator Officer from Municipal Affairs has been brought into town to oversee the municipality's operations. (Sundre Round Up)
Too Much Profit?
CAMROSE -- City councillor Mary Durand feels the city is making too much on the sale of its residential lots. (Camrose Canadian)
Herbicide Ban Pondered
EDMONTON -- City council is considering whether to ban the spraying of herbicides on parks and playing fields to protect the health of children. (CBC Edmonton)
Bright Idea
ST. ALBERT -- St. Albert is investigating the possibility of changing the city's existing streetlights to save on electricity costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and light pollution. (stalbertgazette.com)
RFP System Challenged
EDSON -- The owner of a grading firm, which has done work for Yellowhead County, says the county's evaluation system, which decides what companies receive RFP contracts, is flawed. (Edson Leader)
CAO Fired
COLD LAKE -- Cold Lake council acted on recommendations put forth in a corporate review and fired its Chief Administrative Officer, its Director of Operations, and a parks and rec director. (Bonnyville Nouvelle)
Town, MD Trade Shots
PEACE RIVER -- The Town of Peace River has fired back at the Municipal District of Northern Lights in a letter accusing the municipality of hypocrisy and of using withdrawal from a cost-sharing agreement as "a weapon." (Peace River Record Gazette)
United Plea For Cash
FORT McMURRAY -- The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association has asked more than a dozen jurisdictions to scrap separate pleas for funding in favour of one joint request ahead of an AUMA meeting later this month. (Fort McMurray Today)
Leading By Example
MANNVILLE -- The village of Mannville recently started the Mannville Housing Corporation(MHC) to show local contractors that homes being built in the village are in demand. (Vermilion Standard)
Municipal Saskatchewan
Unfair Funding Formula
MAPLE CREEK -- The provincial RCMP cost sharing formula is unfair to those municipalities who host RCMP detachments, according to members of Maple Creek town council. (Maple Creek News)
Village Unveils Single Mom Housing Unit
LA LOCHE -- La Loche village officials are proudly showing off a new social housing unit with room for up to seven single mothers and their children. (CBC Saskatchewan)
Skeeter Control An Easy Sell
MOOSE JAW -- In light of an explosion of West Nile cases in Saskatchewan, equipment for mosquito control wasn't a tough sell at the last city council meeting. (Moose Jaw Times-Herald)
. . . And Larvacide Plans Laid
LLOYDMINSTER -- While the first skiffs of snow are quickly taking care of any Midwest mosquito problems, the city is already buying larvacide and mapping out a plan for next year. (Lloydminster Meridian Booster)
Sign Of The Times
NIPAWIN -- Nipawin businesses along with others that use portable signs have new regulations they must follow. (Nipawin Journal)
Hall At The Mall
SWIFT CURRENT -- City Hall staff is gearing up to set up shop in their temporary home in the Swift Current Mall. (Southwest Booster)
Municipal Manitoba
Town, RM Hire Coordinator
CARMAN -- The position of emergency co-ordinator has been filled by the Town of Carman and Rural Municipality of Dufferin. (Carman Valley Leader)
Deputy Mayor Appointed
WINNIPEG BEACH -- Dick Cain will serve as deputy mayor of this lakeside town. (Interlake Spectator)
Smoke Eaters Score Thermal Cameras
MORDEN -- Fake smoke in the darkened silent halls of the former Bethel Hospital in Winkler provided a good test for the newest tool in the arsenal of the Morden and Winkler fire departments. (Morden Times)
Dump Upgrades Eyed
STEINBACH -- The City of Steinbach is proposing to construct new facilities at its regional landfill site in hopes of encouraging local and area residents to separate waste at the site. Ninth story down. (The Carillon)
City, RM Point Fingers
DAUPHIN -- During city council's regular meeting CAO Brad Collett reported a slight snag in the city and RM's water negotiations. (Dauphin Herald)
Urban Reserves Demystified
WINNIPEG -- Manitoba politicians, business people and aboriginal leaders went on a tour of the Muskeg Lake Cree reserve in Saskatoon, to help answer growing questions about how urban reserves work and how they are taxed. (CBC Manitoba)
Municipal North
E-Commerce Questioned
WHITEHORSE, YK -- Before the city gets into the e-commerce game, Coun. Doug Graham wants to know just how much it's going to cost. (Whitehorse Star)
Waste Oil Woes
FORT SIMPSON, NT -- The village of Fort Simpson wants to get rid of more than 500 barrels of waste oil stored on town land. (CBC North)
Walkerton In The Making?
YELLOWKNIFE, NU -- The territorial government says the N.W.T.'s water system is safe, even though less than half the communities have formally trained staff to run the local water plant. (CBC North)
Pay Raise Pondered
IQALUIT, NU -- Worried that it's too close to a municipal election to give themselves a pay raise, Iqaluit city council nevertheless considered a by-law this week that would create a new pay scale for city councillors and the mayor. (Nunatsiaq News)
Municipal Ontario
Bikes, Skates, Scooters Banned
HUNTSVILLE -- Huntsville councillors have developed a zero tolerance policy with respect to just about anything on wheels in the downtown area except motor vehicles. (Huntsville Forester)
Smoke Eaters Understaffed: Union
WASAGA BEACH -- Fire stations in Wasaga Beach are severely understaffed, putting the lives of firefighters and residents in peril, according to the Canadian head of the International Association of Fire Fighters. (Enterprise Bulletin)
Water Rebates On Tap
NEW TECUMSETH -- Tottenham and Beeton residents who were shocked by the hike in their water and sewer bills recently could soon receive a rebate cheque or credit from the Town of New Tecumseth. (Alliston Herald on somcoe.com)
Candidate Bashes Bureaucracy
SUDBURY -- Mayoral candidate Paul Marleau promised to freeze senior staff salaries, get rid of consultants, review the city's budget process, and "review the whole structure of the bureaucracy at city hall." (Sudbury Star)
CAO Takes Early Retirement
FORT FRANCES -- After 35 years of working with the Town of Fort Frances, Chief Administrative Officer Bill Naturkach is retiring. (Fort Frances Times)
Councillor Faces Conflict Charge
KENORA -- A former Jaffray Melick councillor and unsuccessful candidate for Kenora council is taking court against a current councillor, accusing him of conflict of interest. (Kenora Miner and News)
Reverse 911 System Unveiled
AMHERSTBURG -- The County of Essex has rolled out a system which can call out to people to notify them in case of an emergency. (Amherstburg Echo)
Freebies To End?
EXETER -- Free drinks for South Huron staff could be a thing of the past. (Exeter Times Advocate)
Official Plan Reviewed
WALKERTON -- Protecting agricultural land from residential development is an issue Bruce County will look at as it reviews its five-year-old official plan. (Lucknow Sentinel)
Decision Time On Service Plan
STRATHROY -- It's time to make a decision, Strathroy-Caradoc's town council is telling its neighbour to the north, Adelaide-Metcalfe Township. (Age Dispatch)
City Official Forced Out: Lawyer
ST. CATHARINES -- St. Catharines' chief building official was forced out of his job because he wouldn't act on internal pressure to open an unsafe building, his lawyer said. (St. Catharines Standard)
Bawdy Parlours Get The Rub
CLARINGTON -- The Municipality is hoping it has rubbed out illicit massage businesses through the passage of a tough new bylaw. (durhamregion.com)
Volunteer Firefighters To Unionize
QUINTE WEST -- Volunteer firefighters employed by the City of Quinte West have voted overwhelmingly to join a trade union. (Campbellford Community Press)
Transit Plan Hits Roadblock
OTTAWA -- Ottawa's massive $3.4-billion rapid transit plan met financial reality twice yesterday and fiscal prudence won both times. (Ottawa Citizen)
Municipal Atlantic
$2.1M Infrastructure Grant
RIVERVIEW, NB -- Six water and wastewater infrastructure projects totaling $2,147,856 were announced under the Canada-New Brunswick Infrastructure Program. (CNB)
Province Appoints Village Supervisor
FREDERICTON, NB -- Following the resignations of the mayor and a councilor left the Village of Riverside-Albert council unable to create a legal quorum, the province appointed Brian Lamb as a supervisor. (CNB)
Call For Fed Funding
CHARLOTTETOWN, PE -- At this week's meeting of provincial and territorial ministers responsible for local governments, all ministers echoed the call of the premiers for federal action to remedy the fiscal imbalance. (CNB)
Councillors Vouch For Con
CHARLOTTETOWN, PE -- Charlottetown City Councillor Mitch Tweel is defending his decision to write a letter in support of convicted killer Randy Crosby on city letterhead. (CBC - Prince Edward Island)
Partnership Advancing Economic Ventures
AMHERST, NS -- Amherst's partnership with Escalante, Phillipines is continuing to develop nicely, and both communities hope to advance economic ventures. (Amherst Daily News)
Taxing Situation
TRURO, NS -- Truro Mayor Bill Mills is looking for ways to compete with a neighbouring community able to attract companies by not charging business occupancy tax. (The Daily News)
Raw Sewage Riles Residents
PICTOU, NS -- There was a little bit extra in the waters of the river last week -- raw sewage. (Evening News)
Heated Meeting Ends In "Free-For-All"
CORNER BROOK, NF -- "It was certainly like no other (council) meeting that I've ever attended," Coun. Greeley said. "Very little decorum, nobody respectful of anybody else's right to have the floor . . . It got to be a free-for-all." (Western Star)
Getting Wired
Broadband Hits Hamlet
WYMARK, SK -- The residents of Wymark are now able to surf the world wide web faster about 50 times faster. (Swift Current Online News)
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