Municipal League helps councillors learn more about their roles

The president of the Thunder Bay District Municipal League says he remembers having plenty of questions when he was first elected four years ago to municipal office.

Manitouwadge Mayor John MacEachern on Friday said the second of two general meeting for the organization – an offshoot of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association – is all about bringing newly elected officials up to speed on the issues facing the region.

“We’re trying to make sure the new councilors and new mayors have as much information about their jobs as we can possibly get into a couple of days,” MacEachern said, taking a short break from a jam-packed day of presentations on everything from water quality to the role of emergency response teams in Thunder Bay District.

“We’ve made sure the people we’ve got speaking speak mostly about the responsibilities and the authorities that the municipal people will have. It’s a big learning curve, obviously.”
Given that the problems don’t disappear just because someone new takes office, MacEachern said there’s not a lot of time for getting newly elected officials up to speed.

Time waits for no man, MacEachern said, recalling the difficulties he had as a first-term politician.

“It was at least a year before I really understood what the ramifications of what I was doing actually were,” he said.

“These kind of meetings are very good. We plan, as most communities do, I’m sure, to have somebody come in and actually give us courses on what our responsibilities are as well. This is a very good way to start. This way new councillors will get some idea of what their responsibilities are.”

The Thunder Bay District Municipal League was originally formed in 1917, and was known at the time as the Fort William District League.

Its membership is open to all municipalities within the district, as well as Wawa and White River, which technically reside in Algoma District.

The board consists of one member of council from each community, and meets bi-monthly in Nipigon. It holds an annual general meeting in March and a second general meeting in October or November.

Kevin Holland, mayor-elect for the Township of Conmee, said he sees plenty of value in this week’s itinerary.

A former reeve who has been out of municipal politics for seven years, Holland said it’s a great refresher course.

“It’s valuable to bring everybody up to speed – newly elected councillors and those who are returning,” Holland said. “It just gives you a sense to what has taken place and what the issues are today so you can hit the ground running.”
The TBDML meeting continues on Saturday.