The Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie has entered a new chapter as Deputy Reeve Roy Tufford steps into the role of acting Reeve. Following the resignation of Kam Blight in mid-October, Tufford has taken on the added responsibilities.
Tufford spoke about the adjustment, noting that leading council meetings isn’t entirely new for him.
“I'm kind of used to it. Over the last number of years, myself and Garth Asham have traded off for a year at a time as Deputy Reeves. From time to time, we've had to lead meetings in the past. Running a meeting is not new to me, it's not difficult. There are procedural things that you have to get used to, but other than that it's just steering the ship in the right direction through the meeting.”
While the role comes with extra duties, such as attending events and representing the RM at official functions, Tufford continues in his usual duties as a Councillor.
“I'm still on all the boards and committees that I was on before. I've been quite a bit busier, but that's to be taken for granted when you step into this role.”
The temporary leadership arrangement will continue until January, when a by-election will be held to appoint a new Reeve. According to Tufford, the timing is intentional, ensuring the Council can wrap up their budget process.
Despite the added workload, Tufford is focused on maintaining the collaborative spirit that defines the RM’s council.
“There's a lot of dysfunctional councils around Manitoba; there's a lot of infighting within councils. We have a very good Council and they want to maintain that. I just want to move forward, continue with what we've been doing in the next couple of months here and find efficiencies. We're going through a budget period, so there's a lot of important decisions that are being made in the next meeting or two here about what we're doing with the money we raise and how we're going to improve things.”