Issues of ethics in municipal government were front and centre at Battleford town council Monday.
At Monday’s meeting council voted on a couple of items aimed at more rigorous public disclosure and code of conduct requirements.
The changes are designed to bring the town into compliance with provincial legislation, in response to events in the Rural Municipality of Sherwood where the province had launched an investigation. Their reeve Kevin Eberle was removed from office last year for conflict of interest.
A number of changes are being brought in by the Town. According to the administrative report to council presented Monday, the changes impacting Battleford specifically include the following: new public disclosure statements with more information to be shared including family members, a new council procedure bylaw and a code of conduct for municipal employees.
Town council dealt with two of those three items at council. The first was adoption of the code of conduct, in order to comply with the provincial legislation. That passed unanimously.
As well, the town also approved a bylaw to adopt a public disclosure statement bylaw. It provides for council members to fill out forms for public disclosure statements, which would provide more extensive disclosure of employers, corporate interests, partnerships, business arrangements, property holdings, contracts and agreements.
The statements are more rigorous than the ones in place before and Town Administrator John Enns-Wind explained it resembles what an MLA has to disclose in their statements.
That bylaw passed in three readings and was signed and sealed.
