Enterprise government on its own
Hamlet council passes resolution to officially conclude co-management agreement with MACA
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, November 17, 2014
ENTERPRISE
The council of the Hamlet of Enterprise has formally and finally ended a co-management agreement with the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) - but just when that agreement ended was cause for confusion at a council meeting earlier this month.
Council believed the agreement had concluded earlier this summer but that was not quite the case and senior administrative officer (SAO) Hermann Minderlein requested the resolution to wrap up that loose end.
Coun. John Leskiw III asked for an explanation from the SAO, since council believed the agreement had concluded on July 31.
"It was my understanding that at that time, it had expired and that we were now operating on our own," said Leskiw. "However, I see here that you're asking for a motion to extend the co-management agreement until the agreement has been ended."
Minderlein said the hamlet was basically under the co-management agreement until the council meeting in early October.
The SAO explained the agreement ended with the receipt of a letter from MACA saying the agreement had ended, although there were a few items the department wanted the hamlet to complete, such as governance training sessions.
The agreement began in February and was officially extended in May for two months to July 31.
"I think it was misworded at the time or misrepresented," said Mayor John Leskiw II of why the agreement ran beyond that date, noting council had agreed to keep on John McKee as interim SAO until it hired a replacement, but that was somehow misinterpreted to keeping the co-management agreement.
"So we unintentionally continued the co-management agreement without any actual resolution of council," said Coun. Leskiw.
The Nov. 3 resolution states that the council extends the co-management agreement with MACA beyond July 31 until such time as advised by MACA that the agreement has been ended.
Mayor Leskiw said that means the agreement remained in place until the time the hamlet hired a permanent SAO.
Minderlein began work on Sept. 15.
With the co-management talk, Coun. Leskiw weighed in with some criticism of MACA.
"Municipal and Community Affairs, for all intents and purposes, failed us during this co-management agreement," he said. "One of the very first things they stated was they would bring in staff here to help us understand how to hire an SAO. That staff never came."
The councillor also noted MACA also promised courses but they are now scheduled for next year.
"It's unfortunate that we tried our best and extended this in order to meet each and every one of our expectations and requirements, and they gave us nothing," he said.
Minderlein said while he is not trying to make excuses for the department, it had a bad summer dealing with forest fires and personnel issues.
The co-management agreement was established to help overcome dysfunction on council, including persistent disagreements among members and motions that were not acted on by administration.
No one from MACA responded to a request for comment by press time. However, in October, a MACA spokesperson said the department thought the co-management agreement was successful overall.
The successes included council passing a budget, approving a five-year capital plan, appointing an interim SAO who helped recruit a permanent SAO, and conducting a review of bylaws.
