County council postpones decision on municipal inspection

Posted on February 29, 2024 by Ryan Dahlman

By Anna Smith
Southern Alberta Newspapers
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The motion to have the minister of municipal affairs conduct an inspection of Cypress County has been postponed, in hopes of further information coming forward.

Councillor Robin Kurpjuweit, who had initially put forward the notice of motion at the last meeting, expressed that he felt there were “attempts to dissuade counsel from supporting this moving forward.”

“It came to my attention last weekend that some councillors have been advised that there would be potential costs to this investigation, and were given even potential number figures,” said Kurpjuweit. “This is a further example of irregular governance that supports the need for a review like this. Just to clarify what is or is not appropriate.”

Kurpjuweit expressed that this request for inspection was not in response to any dissatisfaction regarding any council decisions, but simply from a desire to ensure transparency and good government.

He noted that he had expressed concern regarding public trust in the past, and sees the potential for inspection as a chance to preserve trust.

Seeing the need for more information for Council prior to the decision being made, Kurpjuweit postponed the motion until after the coming RMA convention, and encouraged Council to not move forward with available alternative motions until that time.