Mandatory Topics
According to legislation in the Municipal Government Act, sections 99.1 to 106, the Amalgamation Committee is required to negotiate 24 mandatory topics prior to final application to Municipal Affairs.
To date, the Amalgamation Committee has proposed recommendations for 24 mandatory items and will reconsider three. On these three items we want to hear from you:
- number of elected officials for an interim council.
- the number of electoral wards/divisions.
- how the new municipality will be represented.
All public input for these items will be collected and represented in a ‘What We Heard Report’. The Amalgamation Committee will review the Report and consider the feedback prior to finalizing these three recommendations. Please take a moment to complete a survey to provide your feedback on these items. See link below.
As items get negotiated, they will be published below.
| NO. | TOPIC | LEVEL OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT | STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Municipal Boundaries | (Inform) | The new municipality’s boundaries will be the same as the current boundaries of Clearwater County and, Caroline, as a hamlet in the newly amalgamated municipality, will have the same boundaries as the current boundaries of the Village of Caroline. |
| 2 | Municipal Status | (Inform) | The new municipality’s status will be a ‘municipal district’, which is consistent with the current municipal status of Clearwater County. |
| 3 | Municipal Name | (Inform) | The new municipality’s name will be ‘Clearwater County’, and the Village of Caroline will become the Hamlet of Caroline. |
| 4 | Council Representation | (Inform) | The new municipality will be represented by seven (7) Council members, one per each division. The new Council will appoint one of its members to be the the Chief Elected Official. * This topic will be revisited by the Committee. |
| 5 | Electoral Wards | (Inform) | The new municipality will be divided into seven (7) electoral divisions * This topic will be revisited by the Committee. |
| 6 | Formation Date | (Inform) | January 1, 2025, has been proposed for the formation of the new municipality. |
| 7 | Interim Council | (Inform) | The Interim Council, effective from the formation date to the next general municipal election, will consist of all existing Clearwater County and Village of Caroline Council members. The organizational meeting for the Interim Council will take place on January 7, 2025. * This topic will be revisited by the Committee. |
| 8 | Compensation to other Municipal Authorities | (Inform) | No compensation is due to other municipalities resulting from the proposed amalgamation. |
| 9 | Chief Administrative Officer | (Inform) | Rick Emmons will be the Interim Chief Administrative Officer for the new amalgamated municipality. |
| 10 | Location of Municipal Office | (Inform) | The new municipality’s main municipal office will be located at 4340-47 Avenue, Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. With a mailing and email address as follows: Box 550 Rocky Mountain House, Alberta T4T 1A4 |
| 11 | Annexation of Land | (Inform) | Not required to achieve contiguous boundary |
| 12 | Other Matters | (Inform) |
|
| 13 | First Election | (Inform) | The Committee recommended that a first election after amalgamation is not required, and the next general municipal election will be held on October 20, 2025. |
| 14 | General Municipal Election | (Inform) | No changes to the 2025 general municipal election timeline are required. |
| 15 | Appointment of Returning Officer(s) | (Inform) | Tracy Haight will serve as the Returning Officer for the newly amalgamated municipality. |
| 16 | Financial Transition | (Inform) | Intendent financial statement audits will take place between 2024-25. |
| 17 | Interim Tax Treatment | (Inform) | The Committee accepted the Interim Tax Treatment Report, and agreed no interim tax treatment is required by the amalgamated municipality as the first day of a tax year (January 1) has been chosen as the proposed amalgamation date. |
| 18 | Tax Treatment | (Inform) | As there are no previously annexed properties within the County or Village, property tax exceptions are not required. |
| 19 | Authority to Impose Additional Tax | (Inform) | The new municipality will not require authority to impose additional tax to service pre-amalgamation debt. |
| 20 | Assessment Matters | (Inform) | Current year property assessments for the proposed municipality will be treated uniformly. |
| 21 | Employee and Labour Agreements | (Inform) | A Human Resources Change Management Plan will facilitate the integration of existing Village of Caroline employees into the new municipality. |
| 22 | Bylaws and Resolutions of Existing Municipalities | (Inform) | No special actions are required for the existing bylaws and resolutions of Clearwater County and Village of Caroline, ensuring a smooth transition. |
| 23 | Continuation of Emergency Services | (Inform) | Current Regional Emergency Management Program and Plans, along with existing staff and bylaws, will carry over to the new municipality. Facility ownership will be passed on to the new municipality. |
| 24 | Library Services | (Inform) | A new municipal library board, allowed within the Libraries Act and Regulations, will be established by the newly formed municipality. |
The Committee is committed to full transparency and a high degree of effective communication. All of the below topics will fall under the "Inform" column on the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) spectrum of public participation. What this means is that at a minimum the public will be informed of what decisions have been made regarding each topic area. The justification around this is that there are legislative restrictions on some topics that limits the available options.
