By Geoff Smith (@GeoffSmithLNN on Twitter)

Village of Warner management “irregular, improper, improvident”: inspection

Sep 27, 2018 | 1:11 PM

WARNER – The mayor of the Village of Warner says there’s “not a doubt in my mind” that the people in place will be able to make the changes recommended in a municipal inspection report that found the village has been managed in an “irregular, improper, and improvident” manner.

Tyler Lindsay hopes it will allow the community to heal and move forward, even as the report shows just how polarized the village south of Lethbridge has become. Surveys on issues such as service delivery and financial condition displaying most people falling into the strongly satisfied or strongly dissatisfied camps.

The report, prepared by Strategic Steps, Inc., was presented to village council Wednesday, Sept. 26. It makes three recommendations for the minister of municipal affairs to provide guidance: in ensuring that bylaws are being properly passed; the proper approval of both operating and capital budgets (both in accordance with the Municipal Government Act); and to obtain financial and legal advice on the recovery of taxes.

“It’s pretty much where we figured we were,” Mayor Tyler Lindsay said in an interview with LethbridgeNewsNOW. “We knew we had some errors in some of the paperwork involved, but overall, there was nothing too shocking in it. It’s kind of what we expected.”

Mayor hopes community will begin to heal

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The inspection was ordered in 2017 after a petition the previous September asked Municipal Affairs to conduct an inquiry. The report states a counter-petition was also submitted. It also acknowledges tensions between some community members and Chief Administrative Officer Jon Hood.

“The inspection team heard various reports of hostility towards the CAO and his family from various community members. In some instances, the CAO reacted which resulted in charges pursued and Peace Bond settlements between the parties,” the report reads.

In its conclusion, the report quotes one concerned resident: “People used to wave when you drove by, now everybody has their heads down.”

Lindsay hopes the reports, and the action council takes, will ease the tensions.

“That’s the ultimate goal of council. We want to heal the community and move forward, and it takes the whole community to move forward, so I hope that we can work together and improve.”

Multiple issues identified

Among the report’s findings:

• While the village is in “reasonably good” financial shape, council did not receive regular revenue and expense reports and did not provide formal direction to do so.
• The village, in some cases, allowed tax arrears on property to build up for 10 years to an insurmountable amount, but did not provide clear communication on remedies, or used irregular methods to conduct tax sales.
• Budget approvals were unclear in the meeting minutes, and separate capital and operating budgets were not created as required. The report says “significant efforts” will be needed to ensure Warner creates multi-year financial plans required by new provincial legislation.
• The village failed to meet advertising requirements for land sales below market value, during a promotion that made lots available for $100.
• Council did not set an appropriate service level for the fire department.
• Some bylaws could not be located for review, and others were unsigned, including a $750,000 borrowing bylaw.
• Council, at times, used improper procedure to close a meeting to the public.

Things already improving: mayor

“It’s a lot to learn; it’s new for some of our council,” Lindsay said. “It’s hard to stay ahead of all those new changes to MGA now, and some of that stuff was before that and some of it was after it. Some of it just gets missed.

“There is human error involved, obviously, but I think, going forward, we have the ability to improve and go forward.”

In fact, Lindsay said some of the issues were corrected as soon as they were pointed out during the inspection.

The next step is for the village to submit a timeline for improvement to the minister by Jan. 7, and then follow through on those steps.

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