More than 80 Town of Pincher Creek policies could soon be rewritten, combined or scrapped altogether after council unanimously approved funding for a comprehensive review aimed at modernizing the municipality’s governance framework.

Council voted during its May 11 regular meeting to authorize Transitional Solutions Inc. to complete the overhaul. Administration said the work is needed to clear outdated documents, improve consistency and support a shift toward a more policy-driven budgeting model.

The decision came after council heard that many of the town’s existing policies are outdated or no longer aligned with current operations and that internal capacity alone would not be enough to complete the level of review required.

Council also spent significant time debating a draft joint-use agreement with Livingstone Range School Division.

Coun. Gordon McMullen was absent from the meeting.

Council approves $30,000 for policy overhaul

Council approved up to $30,000 from the municipal income stabilization reserve to hire Transitional Solutions Inc. to complete a full policy review and rewrite.

Administration told council the town currently has more than 80 policies, many of which are outdated, inconsistent or no longer required.

Chief administrative officer Konrad Dunbar said the scope of the review would be too large for internal staff to complete in a reasonable timeframe.

“We’ve got a lot of them, most of them probably just need to be rescinded,” he said, adding the consultant would help streamline, combine and modernize the policy framework.

Councillors supported the move. Mayor Wayne Oliver said bringing in outside expertise with a broader provincial perspective was the right call.

Council approved the motion unanimously.

Joint-use agreement draws lengthy debate

Council spent the most time reviewing a draft joint use and planning agreement with Livingstone Range School Division. The document, required under the Municipal Government Act, is intended to formalize shared use of municipal and school facilities.

Councillors raised concerns about timelines, implementation details and whether the draft provided enough opportunity for input before provincial deadlines.

Coun. Sahra Nodge said she was “a little disappointed” the agreement came forward for approval without more time for review, noting the issue has been discussed at joint council meetings for several years.

Despite concerns, administration and council members noted municipalities across Alberta are working under similar timelines and that extensions can be requested if agreements are not finalized.

Oliver said the document was a reasonable starting point and emphasized council still had time to refine it through further feedback.

Coun. Brian McGillivray cautioned against overly complex agreements, saying they should remain as simple as possible while still meeting legislative requirements.

Council ultimately directed administration to amend the draft based on feedback provided and bring it back for further consideration.

Chinook Arch highlights library system value

Council heard a delegation from the Chinook Arch Regional Library System, which emphasized the regional value of shared library services and the return on public investment in library programming.

CEO Robin Hepher told council that research suggests every dollar invested in public libraries generates about $6 in economic return through services that support literacy, employment, social services and community programming.

“Your public library is one of the best public dollars you can spend in terms of the impact it has on your community,” Hepher said.

The system includes 40 member municipalities across southern Alberta. Chinook Arch handles behind-the-scenes services such as cataloguing, purchasing, IT support and interlibrary delivery.

The system moves roughly 600,000 items annually through its delivery network, covering about 80,000 kilometres per year.

The delegation also raised a pending request to return the per-capita levy to pre-pandemic levels of $8.17, up from the current $7.76, which would cost the Town of Pincher Creek roughly $1,500 annually.

The increase requires approval from two-thirds of member councils, representing two-thirds of the total population served. That threshold effectively gives the City of Lethbridge, which accounts for just over 50 per cent of the system’s total population, a veto over any levy change.

A previous levy increase request was declined by Lethbridge.

Gas co-operative introduces itself to council

Council also heard from representatives of Chief Mountain Gas Co-op Ltd., a regional natural gas distributor, who provided an overview of operations across multiple municipalities and its history of serving the region since the 1970s.

The presentation included discussion of infrastructure, customer service and expansion through previous acquisitions of related mechanical and HVAC services in Pincher Creek.

Councillors questioned whether residents could switch providers and what process would be required. Representatives indicated a change would require a formal approval process, potentially including a vote.

Coun. Brian McGillivray said council should at least explore whether alternative arrangements could result in savings for taxpayers. He said he would like to see more information on what such a process would involve.

Arena signage

In his CAO report, Dunbar told council a review of arena signage could likely be handled within the existing operating budget, with costs expected to amount to only a few thousand dollars at most.

He said the plan is to remove the signs, obtain a quote while they are already down, and report back to council once the work is complete.

Tax help sessions on the horizon

Dunbar also reminded council of the annual tax assistance sessions held in the last week of June, where councillors sit with residents to answer questions ahead of the June 30 tax deadline.

He asked for direction on the format and scheduling of this year’s sessions. Councillors directed administration to prepare and circulate a schedule with proposed time slots for council participation.

School sponsorship approved after redirect motion fails

Council approved a $350 sponsorship renewal for Matthew Halton High School’s athletics program after an initial motion to redirect the request through the town’s joint funding process failed to carry.

The school wrote to council seeking renewal of a gym banner sponsorship, noting the town’s banner had been displayed since November rather than August due to a maintenance backlog. As a gesture of goodwill, the school offered the renewal at a reduced rate of $350, down from $400.

A motion by Coun. McGillivray to send a thank-you letter and redirect the school to the joint funding process was supported only by McGillivray and Coun. Bernice Cyr, and did not carry.

Coun. Mark Barber then moved that council approve the request as presented, which carried.

Correspondence and updates received

A letter from Lindsey Johnson, co-ordinator with Pincher Creek and District Family and Community Support Services, invited council members to attend a community conversation on seniors’ needs, organized by the Lethbridge Family Services Link program. Nodge expressed interest in attending.

Council also received several items for information, including an update from AltaLink confirming the 185L and 412L transmission line rebuild project north of the community has been delayed to 2029 due to funding changes, with no other project changes reported.

Council was informed of wildfire safety planning updates from AltaLink and changes to Alberta’s recycling system under Extended Producer Responsibility, which will transition municipalities to a provincewide single-stream recycling model, effective Oct. 1.

Council accepted the correspondence as information.