Media Release: July 11, 2018 Council Meeting Summary
For Immediate Release: June 12, 2018
The following items were discussed at the regular monthly meeting of the Stratford Town Council.
Kelly's Pond Watershed Planning Sub-Committee
A sub-committee of the Sustainability Committee was approved with a mandate to develop a plan and budget for the rehabilitation of the Kelly's Pond Watershed. The committee will begin work in the near future with an anticipated report to council before the end of the current council term in November. The Kelly's Pond Watershed Planning Sub-Committee members are:
- Chair -Councillor Jody Jackson
- Vice-chair -Mayor David Dunphy
- Infrastructure Committee Member -David Barrett
- Sustainability Committee Member -Rosemary Curley
- Stratford Watershed Group Member -Madeleine Crowell
Smoke Free Bylaw
Council approved first reading of the Smoke Free Bylaw which will update and change the existing policy into a bylaw after second reading and adoption are held at the August council meeting. The bylaw was developed through the creation of a sub-committee of the Town's Sustainability Committee and was made up of representatives from the Chief Public Health Office, Council for a Smoke Free PEI, residents, business owners, residential property owners, and Town of Stratford. A full media release as well as a copy of the bylaw are available at www.townofstratford.ca.
Election Bylaw
A requirement under the new Municipal Government Act (MGA) is the creation of an Election Bylaw. The majority of the provisions for the conduct of municipal elections are now contained within the act however municipalities have discretion to set their own rules around items including advance polling, alternative voting methods and campaign spending and donation limits. The Election Bylaw was drafted in partnership with Charlottetown, Summerside, Cornwall and Elections PEI, who administers the elections in the four large municipalities, to establish the discretionary rules and procedures for municipal elections in the Town of Stratford. The bylaw passed first reading with a vote of 5-1.
The changes from the minimum requirements in the Act and regulations for the Election Bylaw include:
- Establishing three dual wards
- Establishing the membership and terms of reference for a municipal Electoral Boundaries Commission
- Establishing the process to create a list of electors, versus an enumeration process
- Establishing spending limits for election campaigns at 50% of the level allowed in the regulations
- Establishing campaign contribution rules and disclosure requirements
- Increasing the number of persons required to sign a nomination from 5 to 10 persons and waiving any fee for nomination
- Establishing six advance polling days
- Establishing mobile poll for Andrews of Stratford
- Enabling and establishing rules for mail in ballots
- Establishing a class of senior employees who cannot participate in any municipal election activity
-30-
For more information please contact:
Robert Hughes, CAO
Phone: (902) 569-1995
Email: [email protected]
Print Version: Media Release -Stratford Town Council Meeting Summary (July 12, 2018)