Inaugural Meeting / Swearing in Ceremony Tomorrow
Tomorrow in Council Chambers at 6:30pm, the new Council will be sworn in as required by the MGA which says
156 A councillor, a chief elected official and a deputy and acting chief elected official may not carry out any power, duty or function until that person has taken the official oath prescribed by the Oaths of Office Act.
On the agenda is the vote for committee membership. This was once the purview of the mayor but Council changed that with bylaw 4725 - it now requires a vote of council to decide who sits on what committee, commission or board. Bylaw 4625 says:
4.8 At an Organizational Meeting, Council must:
(a) appoint Councillors to the position of Deputy Mayor and the position of Acting Mayor pursuant to section 4.10;
(b) conduct other business as identified within the Organizational Meeting agenda.
4.9 At an Organizational Meeting, Council shall vote on the appointment of Councillors to Council Committees, boards, commissions, and external organizations.
The proposed 2026 meeting schedule has been published as well as the Deputy/ Acting Mayor assignments for the entire term. The Deputy Mayor acts when the Mayor is unable, the Acting Mayor acts when both the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor are unable.
Council meetings will now start at 4pm and will not go past 10pm unless Council votes to extend the meeting past that time. There will be a 30 minute dinner recess at about 5:45pm.
Closed Council meetings will now be held after the regular council meeting and again are not to go past 10pm. Council also has the power to go into closed during a regular meeting as necessary. No motions or decisions are permitted to be made in closed meetings except to go back into open.
