Westberry School's Ms Palmer's Grade 4/5 Social Class

Thank you to Ms Palmer for inviting me to speak to her Grade 4/5 Social Class at Westberry School. Councillor Henry attended with me and we had a great time answering questions and holding a 'Mock Council.' During the 'Mock Council' the class voted to allow swearing in public and then they decided to rescind/cancel the "Curfew Bylaw."

(The class photo has been removed)


Ms Palmer sent me 18 questions ahead of time and my answers are below. I have grouped the questions into similar groups. I am having formating issues.

1.       Would you consider making “No Swearing in Public” a bylaw? (Mock Council)

                    i.                 No.

                                i.                      It is impossible to legislate morality.

                               ii.                    We can’t force people to be polite.

2.       Would you consider making a curfew bylaw for underage kids? (Mock Council)

                    i.                 We have a curfew bylaw passed in December 2000 (24-00)

                                i.                  I would like to understand why it was passed.

                               ii.                      Ms Palmer’s class is invited to present to Council asking Council to rescind the bylaw.

3.       How do you change a bylaw once it is made? Can you remove a bylaw? (Mock Council)

                    i.                 Another bylaw is passed either rescinding, taking back, the original resolution.

4.       Do you have to be a certain age to be mayor?

                    i.                 You have to be 18.

                                i.                      The Mayor of La Ronge was elected Mayor when he was 21.

                               ii.                      The oldest Mayor in Canada, Hazel McCallion just retired and she was 93.

                             iii.                      John Hamlyn has been Mayor of Crow Head Newfoundland for 52 years. His term ends in 2017 and he is currently 83.

5.       Is there a test you have to take to become mayor or do you need to have certain qualifications?

                    i.                 No. Whoever has the most votes wins.

6.       Is being the mayor a full time job? Or do you have another job as well?

                    i.                 Yes and no.

                                i.                      It is 24/7/365.

                               ii.                     It takes approximately 30 hours per week.

                             iii.                     I have received phone calls at 7:00 in the morning and at 11:00 at night.

                             iv.                     I have received phone calls on holidays and received emails expecting answers while I have been on holidays or away for work.

                   ii.               Yes I have another job.

                                i.                     I am self employed as a management consultant who also provides professional development services on behalf of another company.

7.       Do you get paid to be the mayor?

                    i.                 I am paid $2,200 per month plus expenses and per diems ($145/day).

                                i.                      Per diems are paid when I am out of town for the Town and not compensated by the group for whom I’m travelling. As an example: when I travel for SUMAssure and SAMA, they pay my expenses and per diems and the Town doesn’t pay me or reimburse me.

                               ii.                      My compensation, pay, works out to $26,400 per year for an hourly rate of about $17.

8.       Do Council members get paid to be Councillors?

                    i.                 Yes, they are paid $865 per month which is $10,380/year.

                                i.                     They put in a lot of hours as well attending meetings, reading materials, listening to people, researching, and making decisions.

9.       What did you do before you were the mayor? What will you do after your term?

                    i.                 I was self-employed as I described above.

                   ii.                Probably more of the same; it is tough to say. I am thinking things over to see what direction our family may want to go.

10.   Why did you want to become the mayor? Do you like it?

                    i.                 To begin with some friends encouraged me to run because they thought I would do a good job.

                   ii.                 I thought I brought different skills to the position than the other two candidates.

                 iii.                 I would like Kindersley:

                                i.                      To be beautiful,

                               ii.                     To be just/fair meaning fair and sustainable,

                             iii.                     Opportunities for fulfillment such as arts, culture, recreation, faith places, civic clubs, and more.

                             iv.                     A place where people can have healthy relationships (like not having the neighbours dog poop on your lawn.

                 iv.                           I was reluctant to run; however, I am glad I was elected. Being Mayor has been much more rewarding than I anticipated.

11.   What benefits are there to being mayor? What challenges are there?

                    i.                 Good stuff:

                                i.                      I get work with great people on Council, in Administration, and in Kindersley to help make Kindersley a great place to live.

                               ii.                     I meet lots of terrific people.

                             iii.                     It requires lots of time and requires lots of patience.

                   ii.                 Not So Good Stuff

                                i.                      Some (only a handful) of people are mean and I have been compared to Hitler.

                               ii.                     I am always working: There have been times when it has taken me almost an hour to buy milk and eggs from the store.

12.   How long is the term to be mayor?

                    i.                 Terms are now 4 years and our term ends October 2016.

13.   Do all Council members have to agree before a bylaw is passed? (mock council)

                    i.                 No

                                i.                      For a bylaw to pass it requires the support of the majority of Council; a simple 4 – 3 vote or at least a 3-2 vote.

14.   Do council members ever disagree with you or each other?

                    i.                 Yes.

                                i.                      It is important that everyone has an opportunity to speak to an issue and vote.

                               ii.                     We have a good Council that talks and respects each other’s decisions.

                             iii.                     There is healthy conflict and unhealthy conflict. Council has healthy conflict; it is needed to make good decisions. Healthy conflict is disagreeing about ideas, unhealthy is making disagreements personal.

15.   How many bylaws have you made?

                    i.                 Since this Council was elected we have passed 41 bylaws.

                   ii.                Council has passed three bylaws in 2015:

                                i.                     01-15: A Bylaw of the Town of Kindersley in the Province of Saskatchewan, for the Purpose of Establishing a Development Levy and Servicing Fees for Lands that are to be Developed or Redeveloped Within the Town of Kindersley

                               ii.                    02-15: A Bylaw to Amend Bylaw No. 13-11, Being A Bylaw to Establish the Kindersley Regional Airport Board and Its Authority, and to Provide for Airport Rules and Regulations, Fees and Lease Agreements

                             iii.                    03-15: A Bylaw to Establish a Records Retention and Disposal Schedule and for the Preservation of Public Documents

16.   How many bylaws has the Town of Kindersley passed?

                    i.                    209 dating to 1958 that are still on the books.

                   ii.                      A lot more if you go back to the founding of Kindersley but they have been rescinded (removed)

17.   Are you in the middle of passing any bylaws right now? If so, what are they?

                    i.                 Yes we are (when I received the first email).

                                i.                      Water: the Haubrich Water Treatment Plant is almost at capacity and how do we manage it?

a.       We have developed the Backwash Reservoir

b.      Reduced flow at the vending machine but that has caused problems

c.       What is the best way to resolve this?

                                                                                      i.      We are making two lanes so rural residents use one lane and commercial uses another (Passed 03/23/15)

                               ii.                 Animal Control is being reviewed

                             iii.                 District Plan is being developed

                             iv.                 Budget has passed in principle and now we are waiting for the rates to be developed

18.   Do town employees have to pay taxes?

                    i.                 Everybody pays taxes.

                   ii.                      However, we have incentives for people to build in vacant lots, businesses to build along the highway, and for people to buy new homes in the new subdivision. These people don’t have to pay taxes for one or three years depending on their location.