Councillor Marni Fedeyko believes the town's CAO bylaw no longer reflects best practices and needs to be updated prior to the town's 2025 budget being finalized.
On Oct. 28, she'll be bringing forward a motion to have it updated by Nov. 30 to bring it in line with what she says other Alberta municipalities have in place.
"This update should also include a financial threshold for operational capital and legal expenditures of the CEO can approve without approaching council," Fedeyko said last night.
By doing so, she believes it will provide additional transparency to council and will ensure no spending occurs beyond the threshold in any three of these branches without their approval. She says it will ensure council has eyes and ears on what is coming forward and what is being approved in the background.
"With many questions surrounding shifting of budgetary numbers, staff additions and shifting of departments, legal cost pertaining to operational capital items, as well as capital projects that don't always occur during the budget year, it will give council the control and more insight into how taxpayer dollars are being spent."
She wants the wording to reflect the need for unbudgeted items to be brought forward to council for approval, capital budgets greater than five per cent of their line value to receive council approval and wants a $125,000 limit on what the CAO can sign off on without council approval.
Additionally, she wants it clearly stated the full-time equivalent allocation cannot exceed what is approved in the budget.
She also wants to make it mandatory to review the bylaw every three years to keep it current.
Fedeyko believes it's crucial to have the bylaw updated in advance of the 2025 fall election.
"I think this is very important as we go into an election year where we are going to have new council members sit around the table," she said.
The bylaw governing defining and establish the role of the CAO is part of the town's designated officer bylaw that was last updated in 2014.
As per council's procedural bylaw, no debate took place during the notice of motion.