Jeff Burgar

Talk of amalgamating various municipalities has hit the political talk tables.Councils across Alberta are making news by cutting back on boards and committees councillors have. There are reductions in the numbers of council meetings. Also cut is conferences and seminars, both for themselves and “professional development” costs for staff.

It’s all in the name of reducing expenses, almost all, of course, have to be paid by taxpayers. Those who rent and even buy gasoline or groceries or clothes have those tax costs passed on to themselves. As the song goes, “Freedom isn’t free.’ But heck, just living isn’t free either.

So, good cases can be made for joining up say, a town and hamlet and a municipal district or county. Or even more than a few towns. Many costs are already shared in many communities. Recreation. Water. Tourist and development boards. Fire protection. Library and museum boards.

Why not a step further and join up the management of our local governments? Why do we need two or three or four CAOs, treasurers or public works foremen? Or directors of this department or that one? Plus the office space and computers and systems and on and on?

These are good arguments. In the end, it is really just bean counting. By that, we mean local governments are not just about money. Despite what some of our governments might look and act like, most are professional, transparent and accountable. Yes, some are trash. And some years, the trash is voted into what were decent operations. And some years voters kick out the bad governments.

If truth be told, most governments, especially those around for awhile, do not aspire to be outstandingly good or excellent. Nor do they aspire, even if it looks that way to an outside observer, to be outstandingly bad. While bad just sort of happens, it seems general competency is actually something that has to be worked at.

And often is not.

Alberta municipal consultant George Cuff has actually written several times how fairly good people become fairly intolerable leaders. He writes just being elected twigs something in some people’s egos that makes them suddenly think they are wiser and better than most of the public.

Nothing about amalgamation will change that. Neither does the argument that bigger governments automatically mean better leaders. The landscape of Canada is littered with dreadful premiers, mayors, reeves and probably even prime ministers who have proved that idea completely bananas.

But let’s make a case for keeping things the way they are. That case is basically, rural Alberta needs every voice it can get to speak up for itself.

An old habit formed years ago in provincial affairs says the Province does not listen to unelected people. That is a shameful habit, but still common today.

Part 2 will be published in next week’s edition of South Peace News.