Division Boundary Changes within a Rural Municipality

Council can restructure its divisions and alter the composition of council in order to better represent the interests of the ratepayers.

Section 49 of The Municipalities Act allows the minister to create, eliminate, renumber or alter the boundaries of the divisions in a RM.

Process

To initiate a division boundary alteration, the council authorizes its administrator to contact the Ministry of Government Relations to obtain assistance with the process.

Once it is established how the council wishes to alter the division boundaries, it is recommended that council hold some form of public consultation to inform their ratepayers of the proposal. This should be followed up with:

1. a resolution of council requesting the division boundary alteration;
2. an explanation of the reasons for the request;
3. a map and description of each new division; and
4. an outline of the public consultation undertaken.

As a result of a division boundary change, there will have to be a municipal election called for each division that is undergoing a change. Orders are normally made effective to coincide with the regular autumn municipal election. Should changes impact divisions that are not in an election year, the order will have to specify a shorter (normally one-year) term of office for those councillors. Accordingly, the Minister's Order will:

1. appoint a returning officer;
2. set the dates for receiving nominations and election day;
3. set the polling places;
4. establish the terms of office of the affected division councillors;
5. set the effective date that the division boundary change will take effect; and
6. confirm the lands of the RM and the boundaries of each division.