06 Jul Special Areas Wraps Up 2023 Ratepayer Meetings
Special Areas Advisory Council wrapped up 2023 annual ratepayer meetings on June 28 with the Special Area No. 3 meeting in Cereal. These public meetings give residents a chance to meet with Administration and Advisory Councillors right in their communities. Beginning each May, the annual ratepayer meeting “tour” translates to over 1,200 kilometers traveled throughout the Special Areas!
Annual ratepayer meetings have been a part of how Special Areas connects since the early days of the Board. Members of the public are an important part of municipal decision-making. Special Areas uses ratepayer meetings to hear directly from the public on priorities and issues that should be addressed. Ratepayer motions are one way the public shares feedback with Advisory Council. These motions can be remarkably diverse, ranging from individual concerns on specific projects to larger policy and program considerations. Motions made at 2023 meetings included a range of topics from agricultural rental and lease rates to changes to brush control to ongoing advocacy for medical recruitment and retention in the region. These motions give important insights into areas of concern and will be reviewed by Advisory Council at their next meeting.
Information presented at annual ratepayer meetings is posted on the Special Areas website. This includes audited financial statements, newsletters, presentations, and public reports. At the 2023 meetings, administration shared updates on the tax recovery land sale policy, breaking restrictions on native prairie, upcoming public consultation on land use, and partnership work with municipalities. Advocacy work being done by Special Areas and municipal partners on health care worker retention and recruitment was discussed at many of these meetings. This work was highlighted by members of the public as being a critical part of addressing these challenges and thanked Special Areas for stepping into this issue. Administration also shared information on partnership work in the region, including phase 2 of the regional irrigation project and revenue sharing with urban municipalities.
Ratepayers are encouraged to reach out to their Advisory Council member if they were not able to attend their local ratepayer meetings and have an issue or concern. The next meeting of the Special Areas Advisory Council is planned for early fall. More information on Advisory Council members is available at https://specialareas.ab.ca/about/board-and-advisory-council/.
