Seeking clarity
Montague councillors unsure what they’ll be running for in upcoming municipal election
A Montague councillor is asking the province to consider extending the current council’s term until there is some more direction on the Three Rivers amalgamation.
Coun. Jim Bagnall raised the possibility during Montague’s committee of council meeting Monday at the Cavendish Farms Wellness Centre.
While all seven communities are now signed on to the Three Rivers amalgamation, the process is still in IRAC’s hands.
However, because there has not yet been an official amalgamation the town is currently planning for its usual municipal election on Nov. 5.
Following the meeting, Bagnall shared a number of concerns, including the $10,000 cost of holding a municipal election.
“It would be a blatant waste of money for our municipality, Georgetown and everybody else to have an election on Nov. 5 and then turn around and have another election three months later (once the communities are amalgamated),” said Bagnall.
“They’ve got to come up with a solution right away to decide how this is going to take place.”
Bagnall said candidates would also need at least a month prior to the election in order to campaign.
Mayor Richard Collins said he wrote Communities Minister Richard Brown last week seeking clarification but has yet to hear back.
Collins noted that while communities across P.E.I. are now seeing candidates announcing campaigns, no one in the Three Rivers area is stepping forward.
“No one down this way is making any announcements,” said Collins. “Stratford already has three candidates in the running for mayor, and we’re not even sure what we’ll be having an election for.”
The Guardian reached out to the province’s communities department but did not receive a response by publication time.
The amalgamation would see all seven previous community councils replaced by a new Three Rivers council, which would include 12 councillors and a mayor for the first four years.
Another solution Bagnall suggested was for the province to allow an election for the Three Rivers council on Nov. 5 but to keep the current community councils in their roles until the amalgamation officially occurs.
The questions arose while Montague council was reading over a new municipal election bylaw required under the Municipal
Government Act.
It’s a bylaw that will likely have to be tweaked or revamped once amalgamation comes into effect.
CAO Andy Daggett said, until he hears otherwise, the town is planning for a Montague municipal election.
“I haven’t heard anything confirmed either way,” said Daggett. “A Montague election is what we’re looking at. We have people lined up to be returning officers and DROs so we’re gearing up for a Montague election. And we’re going to proceed that way until we know differently.”
“It would be a blatant waste of money for our municipality, Georgetown and everybody else to have an election on Nov. 5 and then turn around and have another election three months later (once the communities are amalgamated). They’ve got to come up with a solution right away to decide how this is going to take place.” Coun. Jim Bagnall