Council approves code of conduct bylaw

Chestermere City Council has approved a new Elected Officials Code of Conduct Bylaw in advance of changes to the Municipal Government Act (MGA) requiring such a bylaw.
“What this does is it allows us to get out ahead of the game…and establish that bylaw early in our tenure,” said Mayor Marshall Chalmers.
He said that the code of conduct bylaw is about council ensuring, “their house is in order.”
Part of what the bylaw does is help lay out for new councilors what their role and responsibilities are.
“There’s processes that are regulated and you need to follow to get to your end goal,” he said.
Having this bylaw in place helps get all of council on the same page and ready to work to implement their vision for the city in a unified and professional fashion.
“It’s great, it…gives us a real clear path forward,” said Chalmers.
Another change mandated by the changes to the MGA is the amount of training members of council have to undergo.
“Elected officials are required to go through a substantial training program within 90 days of being elected,” he said.
“That’s what we’ve been going through, receiving that training that’s required by the Province,” said Chalmers.
He said there has been a lot of new information for council to learn, ranging from individual city departments to CUI.
“What I’m really enthused about is the eagerness of everyone of…council is so eager to learn and try and find that positive path forward,” said Chalmers.