With Levi Paradis from Weger Paradis Law Firm handling the duties, Weyburn City Council was officially sworn in before the meeting last night.
“Well, it's exciting,” said newly elected Mayor Jeff Richards. “You know, I will confess it was a tiny bit nervous at the start, but good to be back, get all of the other stuff out of the way and back to work.”
Having her family in attendance for the swearing-in ceremony was important was important for Kellie Sidloski, who was elected for the first time earlier this month.
“Yeah, it's pretty special,” Sidloski commented. “My little five-year-old was blowing me kisses across the room and it's neat to see a younger age be able to get involved and kind of witness this and I hope they carry it with them.”
Taking part in his first meeting was Todd Bedore, who was also elected on November 13th.
“Little bit of nerves at the beginning there, but I think the team's really good and I'm really looking forward to the next four years.”
All six of the councillors were sworn in ahead of the meeting itself. From there, the councillors jumped right into the regular duties that you would expect during a council meeting. Mayor Richards noted there isn’t really a break when it comes to municipal politics.
“No, there isn't. And in fact, there was a little bit of confusion. Some folks weren't sure if we were even actually on the job until tonight when we were sworn in. But of course, it's the day after the election. That's when the work starts. So we've all been doing our jobs, but yeah, we jump right in. There's no time wasted.”
“Yeah, there's no holding back,” added Bedore. “So after this meeting, we're right into budget and budget approvals and stuff like that. So there's no room for error there.
The meeting did have a few laughs, such as the task of reading chemicals needed for the water treatment plant ending up on Bedore's desk. The motion to accept the tender, which is done every year, will often end up on the desk of a new councillor the first time it comes up during a term. Bedore, though, was prepared.
“You know, I thought, I didn't think it was an initiation,” Bedore said. “I thought maybe it was just luck of the draw and then I started reading it and I'm like, no, no, no, I don't think I'm going to be able to make that.
“If I'm being honest, it landed on my desk first of all, and I may have slid it onto Councillor Bedore's desk,” laughed Sidloski.
The councillors did give the first reading to a bylaw regarding portable signs in the city and also accepted a tender for a new ventilation system for the public works building and fire hall.
The next scheduled meeting for Weyburn City Council is December 9th.