Conflict of Interest and Small Town Saskatchewan Politics

Conflict of interest refers to when a municipal councillor puts their interests ahead of the best interests of the community as a whole. Councillors are expected to consider the needs of the entire community when decision-making. They are expected, as government, to hold themselves to a higher standard than the general population. That means if there is even an appearance of a conflict of interest, they must excuse themselves from any discussion or decision-making around the hot topic. They do not get a vote.

And guess what? It isn't just about financial gain anymore. If you are on Council to get a new rink built (for example) because you or anyone you love wants a new rink, or if you are part of the rink committee that is actively fundraising, or you own a gravel business, and then get the work without it going to tender, then you are in a conflict of interest. This type of paternalistic politics destroys communities. While people build things they want, they leave generations paying the expense long after they are gone. Sometimes, it takes generations to pay for the debt that ego incurred.

Sometimes the issue doesn't result in more debt; sometimes, it results in the people who live in the community carrying a deep mistrust of the people running the community. It is tough to tell until years later what kind of damage results.

Conflict of interest, unaddressed, destroys any faith people might have had in their Council. We tend to blame them all. Even after an election, even when there is a change in Council. Council, in our minds, becomes its own entity. Stain it, and you can stain it for generations. It is a weird phenomenon we have in small towns...

Community engagement, transparency, feasibility studies, market research, decent estimates based on actual designs, and a clear understanding of who will pay the operating and maintenance costs are a start. Many councils skip this essential part of project management because they honestly would rather not know; they would instead build their thing and damn the costs. And we elected them.

Other councillors are well-intentioned, believing their idea will undoubtedly benefit the community. However, they do not understand the costs involved regarding ongoing expenses or even if their community would agree with their plan. This is why community engagement is so critical. Skip this, and you risk going down a path the community as a whole, if they had all the information, would never support.

Still, others use their position on Council to get work that should properly be put out for tender or are involved in the vote when deciding who should get the job. All of these represent examples of conflict of interest.

Part of the issue is that people are pretty apathetic within the community. They only consider the pros when they see something as progressive but do not understand the associated risks, expenses, and impact on the community. Or they hear the rumours and ignore them. But when lousy decision-making results in increased taxes, they are not prepared to ignore that. Friends and neighbours, where did you think the money would come from...spoiler alert...it comes from you. There is no way to maintain our existing assets without regular tax increases, never mind building a bunch of new stuff. I am not saying you do not build; I am saying know the costs and how you as a community will cover those costs. I am saying follow the rules regarding conflict of interest; they are there for a reason.

The hell of it is most people within the community can tell when someone is operating in conflict, but the legislation here forces regular people to hire lawyers at their own expense to fight it. Council knows when someone is acting in conflict within their ranks but cannot call out the rogue, leaving the training and the rogue's ethics to govern behaviour. There is no way to make them take the training or for us to correct this breach of ethics.

Mostly, people do their best when they run for Council. Once they know better, they do better. But a few out there simply don't give a fiddler's damn, what the rules are, or what it costs the community in the long run. Ego rules the day in these situations. When everyone knows, we can only wait for the next election and judge ourselves accordingly. And we can ask the question...who is paying the operating costs? Who is paying the maintenance costs? How much will it cost to build? What are the risks? Who is responsible for risk management? Who owns the asset? Did they agree to pay the balance? And so on, and so on.

An informed population who cares about their community is the best defence against the odd councillor who ran for election to support their agenda. They work for us, we elected them, and they are accountable to us. We have the right to ask questions. One might argue we have that obligation.

Trade Shows...Whadda Rush!!

Anna and I packed up our humble display threw it in the back of my new to me me car, and spent the last couple of days in Saskatoon at the SUMA convention. I was planning on sitting at the booth. We registered Anna as a full delegate, so that she could learn all she could at the SUMA conference. I planned to see an old friend...from my home town, one Gerald Aalbers, the honorable Mayor of Lloydminster, and to present "10 Things Your Administrator Wishes You Knew" to a small crowd that would be nice to me. It was wonderful to catch up with Gerald, as brief as it was, and there were a LOT more people at my presentation than I expected. Many thanks to SUMA for the opportunity, and for my hostess, Cheyenne Geysen, and my Board member intro Pat Jackson for saying such kind things about me as part of the intro.

All the plans came off, except the crowd was much larger than I expected. We were able to touch base with some of our existing customers, and to make some new contacts. It was a great trip, well put together and we really enjoyed it.

I got to see my sister, TWICE, eat good food, stay in a nice hotel, and network. Oh, and if you get the chance on your way through sometime, stop at Big Mur's at Dundurn. The menu itself is worth a stop, and the food is really, really good. If that were not enough, there are whimseys in the menu you won't want to miss. They actually have stupid questions on the menu, and if you ask one, they say it costs a quarter.

While it is still storming today at home and many of the roads were still closed earlier today, we managed to slip out shortly after my presentation on Tuesday night. Good thing too, because had we waited another hour we'd still be in transit somewhere.

I haven't been to a lot of trade shows, but I am a real people watcher, and the time went by really fast. Here are the things I noticed:

1. If you don't engage with the people walking by, they often don't stop. But if you say "hi" and smile, they will stop and ask what you are there for...and then sometimes they make plans to see you later. Staying on your cell phone and ignoring the passers by, even when they are elbow deep in your candy dish just seems like a waste of the hundreds of dollars somebody paid to promote their business.

2. We had a lot of comments about the realistic fake plants we had on our desk to brighten up the place. They looked really real, and attracted some attention. Winners, you did it again. Now I need some for my house. I prefer real plants, but I am kind of hard on them.

3. We were way outclassed in the popcorn department. We were going to bring a little popper, having read somewhere that it brings people over to your booth...but BCL was giving away a variety of flavored popcorn from a small business called LVL, Gourmet Popcorn in Onion Lake. Knocked that right out of the park BCL, everyone else was playing for second place. I ate some Chicago Mix, and thought it was well worth the smudge I left on my pants when I wiped my hand on my before I could shake a hand.

The next one is in Regina, and Gerald tells me there is one in September I need to be at in Alberta. We will see you there!

8 Things You Need to Know If You Are Thinking About Running for Council

When it is election time in our small municipalities, it is stressful for the Administration and the staff as new Councillors come on board with a passion for change but no real idea of what is involved. That puts the Administration in an odd situation of having a bunch of new bosses who think they know their role. It gets complicated when you are in the position of knowing more about their roles than the people in them but being subject to discipline if you don't do as your Council directs you. Training is not required for new Councillors; it is considered in most provinces that the Administrator is supposed to train the Councillors. If you are thinking about running for Council, there are things you should consider first. I've listed the most common ones here.

1. People change their attitude towards you as soon as you are elected. It seems there is no sense of boundaries now; once you are a councillor in a small population, you are considered by most to be on call. People often approach you at a hockey game or when you are out and about. Mostly it is to have you fix something. You must understand that complaints must be directed through the Administration so they can be addressed at a meeting. You shouldn't make a personal response. This is because...

2. Councillors have no power whatsoever as individuals. That means that individual councillors cannot speak on behalf of the rest, no matter their personal opinion. That means you cannot say what Council will do about an issue unless it goes to a meeting and is decided upon by the entire Council.

3. Municipal Councils are a part of the larger government. They are not an independent government and are expected to follow the current legislation and the standard rules of the government. That means rules around staff, safety, policy and procedure are expected to follow the government's lead. The Administration is expected to know the legislation and make sure you know it too.

4. Deciding you disagree with the legislation does not free you from your obligation to follow it. When you take your oath of office, you agree to a code of ethics and to work in the best interest of the entire community within the framework of the legislation.

5. You are not allowed to be involved in Council discussions about things in which you have an interest. Conflict of interest is complicated in a small town where you can belong to several committees that need money or support from the Council. According to the Ombudsman, a conflict of interest occurs when there is a financial benefit but also when there is a personal interest. For example, being on the rec board and fundraising for ball diamonds while being on the Council discussion, a donation for the ball diamonds is a conflict of interest. This can cause a bit of upset to those who run for Council on their agenda only to find out that this is not allowed.

6. Unless you have a bylaw to the contrary, the Administrator is your only employee. That means you have to let the Administrator take on the role of hiring, firing and supervising your staff. That means you cannot follow around the public works staff and tell them they are doing it wrong. That means you cannot direct the work of staff. You must follow your provincial legislation if you want that kind of involvement. Some provinces do not allow that at all. Stepping over that particular line can leave your community vulnerable to liability.

7. The Administrator is your resource person. If you have an experienced administrator, you have a guide through all things municipal. They are either trained or undergo training, generally with a mentor, and undoubtedly know more about how things must be done than new Councillors. Support and respect are the keywords here.

8. Being on Council allows you to make fundamental changes in your community. It is a sometimes difficult and critical position, especially now. You have the opportunity to make real change. Many of our communities are in a transition state, where the decisions Councils make impact the future sustainability. Good leaders are essential to our long-term survival.