REGINA - Potential changes could be coming to the Municipalities Act, and in advance of that some surveys are being sent out to seek feedback on potential changes.
In December the Ministry of Government Relations sent out surveys to municipalities about the changes. The surveys focused on four potential changes in particular: on encouraging RM and towns to merge into "Municipal Districts", the potential removal the requirement to place public notices in newspapers, more powers for municipalities to deal with vacant lots, and more powers to address the issue of workplace harassment from elected officials.
On vacant lots, the ministry is asking municipalities it should consider any of the following options when The Municipalities Act is amended:
To review existing authority for municipalities to enact nuisance bylaws, clean up derelict properties, and enforce maintenance standards;
To allow municipalities to have a vacancy tax to discourage long-term vacancy of buildings and properties;
To explore the use of tax incentives to encourage owners to demolish derelict buildings or repurpose vacant land and buildings for development.
On harassment complaints, municipalities are being asked about these options:
Whether to add failure to follow the review, report, or recommendation from the Ombudsman or OH&S investigation to the list of reasons for disqualification:
Whether to require all members of council to take mandatory training relating to respect in the workplace and anti-harassment.
The issue of placing public notices in newspapers is one that has come up before, with a decline in the number of newspapers published as well as the rise of other sources such as online media.
Municipalities are being asked about these options: whether there should be more flexibility to allow alternate means of public notice instead of newspaper advertising when a municipality has adopted a public notice bylaw; and whether to consider making this change for all legislation that requires municipalities to give public notice by newspaper.
Finally, a survey was sent out seeking feedback on whether to encourage cities/towns and neighbouring RMs to merge into a larger Municipal District.
It was noted Saskatchewan has the second highest number of municipalities in Canada, despite first place Quebec and third place Ontario having higher populations. It was also noted Saskatchewan has the most local governments per capita.
In the material sent to municipalities from the province, it was pointed out larger municipalities could have a stronger voice in the province and in the municipal sector, and there might be other potential advantages. Those could include administration efficiencies, improved staff recruitment, consistent planning and development goals and requirements, savings and efficiencies gained through the sharing of assets/equipment, and staffing; options to improve services and operations; harmonized bylaws; and flexibility to restructure local government in a way that meets regional interests.
Whether any or all of these potential changes come to fruition remains to be seen. When asked for comment, the Saskatchewan government had this to say about the process in a statement:
“The ministry is consulting on potential amendments to municipal legislation and is collecting public feedback by online surveys. Consultation helps inform how municipal legislation could be improved and changed to meet the evolving needs of municipalities. Municipalities are an independent level of government, and we believe they have the tools they need to generate tax revenue. Public and stakeholder engagement is an important step when considering existing and potential policies under municipal legislation. Not all survey issues will necessarily be included in the proposed changes, and these issue papers DO NOT announce any change in policy, taxation or otherwise. When considering amendments, our government will remain committed to maintaining affordability.”
