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“Lame Duck” council could slow down budget GREGGCHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca lowest price to do the most work to secure a contract.
tion could result if six of the current eight sitting mayors face re-election challenges or decide not to run for re-election at all. A “lame duck” council situation exists star- ting the day after the nomination dea- dline for a municipal election, continues through to Election Day, and could remain in e%ect until the new counties council is sworn in mid-December. Under provincial law, a “lame duck” council has no authority to either appoint or remove anymunicipal or county o"cials, or to hire or !re employees. The council in such a case also cannot approve the sale
of any municipal or county property which is $50,000 or more in value at the time, or approve any purchases or other expenses or liabilities for the municipality or county that are more than $50,000 in value, unless those items were already approved as part of the current budget. Counties staff have already begun their own review and planning work for the 2015 budget. But if a “lame duck” situation develops, Parisien noted that approval of the 2015 counties budget may have to wait until the end of January next year.
But this year’s municipal election could slow down the counties budget appro- val process this time. The Municipal Act states that if less than three-quarters of an outgoing council may become part of the new council after an election, then a muni- cipal or county government has a “lame duck” council situation until the actual election takes place, the ballots counted, and the new council sworn in before the end of the year. For the UCPR council a “lame duck” situa- L’ORIGNAL | They’re not big enough to be called villages and the folks who live in all the little hamlets scattered through- out Prescott and Russell counties prefer the “very small town” lifestyle these bed- room communities o$er. A new signage project proposed at counties council may make these tiny communities a little more noticeable to casual passersby. Champlain Township Mayor Gary Barton suggested during the August 13 commit- tee of the whole session that the United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) follow the example of its counterpart in Stormont- Dundas-Glengarry with the new highway signs provided for the hamlets throughout the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (UCSDG). GREGG CHAMBERLAIN GREGG.CHAMBERLAIN@EAP.ON.CA
L’ORIGNAL | It wouldn’t stop the process but a «lame duck» situation during this year’s fall civic election could delay early approval of the counties budget for next year. The Sept. 12 nomination deadline for the October municipal election is getting clo- ser and if all or most of the mayors sitting on the United Counties of Prescott-Russell council (UCPR) end of facing re-election challenges to their position, it could create a “lame duck” counties council situation that will hamstring any major political de- cisions for the next several weeks. That in- cludes early approval of the 2015 counties budget as Stéphane Parisien, UCPR chief administrator, explained during a verbal report to council at its Aug. 13 committee of the whole session. “We would not be in a position to adopt our budget by the end of November,” Pari- sien said. For the past couple of years, the UCPR sta% have presented the annual budget for early approval before the end of De- cember. Early approval of the budget has allowed the counties to reap savings on many of capital works projects because sta% were able to post tender calls earlier in the following year when contractors are anxious to build up their construction contracts quota fast so they are assured of a busy operations year. At that time more contractors are submitting bids which means more competition to o%er the
Hamlets get counties council’s eye
Photo Gregg Chamberlain
There are many quiet little hamlets like this tucked away in the corners of Prescott and Russell counties. An updated signage plan for the counties may soon make them a little more noticeable to travellers passing through.
with space for a small UCSDG logo. Bar- ton proposed that the UCPR look at doing something similar for the bene!t of hamlets in Prescott and Russell like Ettyville, located within the boundaries of the City of Clar- ence-Rockland, and others. “I think it’s a great idea,” said Marc Cler- mont, UCPR public works director. He noted that his o"ce and the counties economic development and tourism de- partment could work together on a propos- al for hamlet signage on county roads. He also noted that some of the municipalities within Prescott-Russell already do provide small road signs identifying the hamlets located along their backcountry rural roads and his sta% might need to consult with their counterparts among the member mu- nicipalities. “I want to make sure we don’t double up,” he said. “But I think it’s a great idea if we want to promote our (smaller) communi- ties.” Clermont will present counties council with a report on hamlet signage, including guidelines for what is a hamlet as opposed to a village or town. Warden Jean-Paul Saint-Pierre o%ered a suggestion, based on his childhood memories, about how to de- !ne a hamlet. “Wherever there was a school house,” he said, “there was a little hamlet around that school house.”
“The signs are small and they are neat,” Barton said. The highway signs for hamlets in UCSDG have room for the name of the community
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