2022 May

Mandatory public disclosure statements help to assure the public that, when elected to office, council's decisions are made in the best interests of the municipality. Public Disclosure statements also:

• Have a direct impact when dealing with conflicts of interest;
• Assist with transparency and accountability as pillars of good governance; and
• Assist the public's understanding of any dealings that may compromise a council member's ability to make decisions.

The public disclosure statement identifies:

• The name and nature of employment;
• Financial interests; and
• Other involvement that may be seen to affect fairness in making a municipal decision.

It's important to remember these documents are available to the public. The statements should not include specific financial details such as salary, value of holdings, or number of shares. If there are complex business interests and arrangements listed, a discussion with a lawyer or accountant regarding how to complete this statement may be required.

There are three public disclosure statement templates available online:

1. Municipal Public Disclosure Statement must be filled out with nomination papers and again within thirty days upon being acclaimed or winning the council seat.
2. Public Disclosure Annual Declaration must be completed annually with or without any updates. If there are no updates, it must be completed stating such.
3. Public Disclosure Statement Amendment must be filled out any time a change in the information has occurred, such as a change in occupation or a sale or purchase of land.

Refer to the Public Disclosure Guide to learn what to include in public disclosure statements.

Failing to file public disclosure statements

To receive their Municipal Revenue Sharing (MRS) Grants, municipalities must ensure council members file their original public disclosure statement at the beginning of their term of office and complete their annual declaration in subsequent years of their term. If council members do not file the required documents, a municipality may be considered ineligible for the MRS Grant.

Council members that fail to file public disclosure statements are considered disqualified from council and are legislatively required to resign immediately. If the disqualified council member does not resign:

• The council may, by resolution, declare the council member's office vacant; or
• The council or a voter may apply to a judge of the court for an order determining if the person is disqualified.

The Government of Saskatchewan continues to work with municipal sector stakeholders on the Board of Revision Renewal Initiative. Amendments to The Municipalities Regulations, The Cities Regulations, and The Northern Municipalities Regulations require all boards of revision to be certified to hear property assessment appeals starting with the 2023 taxation year.

The application process for board of revision certification opens in June 2022.

For a board of revision to be certified, all members and secretaries must take an Oath of Office and successfully complete an online training program developed through the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS). To learn more about the training program and register, visit the JSGS Board of Revision Training Program page. Once these certification requirements have been met, the board of revision should apply for certification to the Office of the Registrar.

It's the board's responsibility to ensure its members and secretaries meet certification requirements and to apply for certification. Municipalities are responsible for ensuring they have a certified board before the assessment roll is prepared and to notify the registrar with resolution of council of the appointed board of revision.

For details on how to apply for certification, visit Board of Revision Training and Certification and refer to the Board of Revision Certification Guide. This guide has more details on the responsibilities of the board, the municipality, and the registrar.

The mandatory training and certification of all boards of revision will ensure Saskatchewan taxpayers receive qualified property appeal services.

As the Board of Revision Renewal Initiative continues, the Ministry of Government Relations is seeking feedback from municipalities on the board of revision training program and upcoming changes for appointing a certified board of revision.

An email with the link to a survey was emailed to municipalities earlier this month. If you have not received the invitation to participate in the survey, please reach out to the Property Tax and Assessment unit via email property.tax@gov.sk.ca.

The input from municipalities and sector stakeholders is valuable and will assist in determining the further implementation of the Board of Revision Renewal Initiative.

Is your local authority adopting a new building bylaw, amending your existing building bylaw or repealing your building bylaw?

Local authorities are required to submit their building bylaw or repeal of their bylaw for the approval of the Minister of Government Relations, as described under section 17 of The Construction Codes Act (the CC Act). The requirement for ministerial approval does not apply to a bylaw pertaining only to fees.

A local authority must submit two certified true copies of any new building bylaw or repeal of a bylaw within 60 days after passing the bylaw to Building and Technical Standards (BTS) Branch for processing. BTS will review the bylaw to determine whether it conflicts with the CC Act.

Within 60 days of receiving the bylaw, the Minister has the option to choose one of the following four options for approval:

• Approve the bylaw
  This occurs if the bylaw does not conflict with the CC Act or the Regulations.
• Not approve the bylaw
  This occurs if the bylaw conflicts with the CC Act or the Regulations.
• Approve the bylaw in part
  This occurs when part of the bylaw does not conflict with the CC Act or the Regulations and is severable from the part of the bylaw that does conflict.
• Approve the bylaw on the condition it be amended
  This occurs only when the bylaw does not conflict with the CC Act or the Regulations and the required amendments do not materially affect the bylaw.

While BTS is typically able to process a building bylaw in one to two weeks, the adoption, amendment or repeal of a building bylaw does not take effect until it is approved by the Minister.

Local authorities are encouraged to contact BTS prior to adopting, amending or repealing their building bylaw, to ensure draft wording is in compliance with the CC Act. This ensures quicker processing and a more rapid turnaround.

Local authorities, administrators and building officials who have questions can contact the Building and Technical Standards Branch at 306-787-4113 or btstandards@gov.sk.ca.

Changes to the Household Packaging and Paper Program (blue bin program) are being considered.

During engagement last spring, the Ministry of Environment heard support for harmonizing regulations with neighbouring jurisdictions and shifting to a program fully funded and operated by producers.

The Ministry of Environment has completed a review of the regulations and wants to understand how the proposed changes may impact you and your municipality. The ministry will be reaching out soon via email to invite you to:

• Review the draft regulations and summary of proposed changes.
• Attend the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council's seminar on how similar program changes have affected municipalities in neighbouring jurisdictions on May 17, 2022.
• Discuss the proposed changes at an online engagement session hosted by the ministry in June 2022.
• Send your feedback on the draft regulations to the ministry by June 30, 2022.

The Ministry of Environment looks forward to working with you. For more information, visit saskatchewan.ca/recycling or email waste.management@gov.sk.ca.

Each year, emergency personnel respond to about 1,300 calls related to carbon monoxide (CO) and over 1,000 calls related to fires in Saskatchewan.

That is why it's so important that your citizens install smoke and CO alarms by July 1, 2022 in their residential buildings, as per the Government of Saskatchewan's Building Code Regulations.

To help promote this important safety initiative, Building and Technical Standards have created various materials that you, as administrators, can share on your municipality's social media accounts or print off for distribution through your office.

• Social media
  • image of a combination smoke-CO alarm
  • image of a hand testing combination smoke-CO alarm
  • Government of Saskatchewan posts you can share on your feeds:
    • English Facebook post
    • French Facebook post
    • English Twitter post

• For more information online: saskatchewan.ca/smoke-co-alarms

• Building Advisories
  The Building and Technical Standards Branch created advisories that describe what type of alarms meet the new standards and where to install them:
  • Building Advisory: Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Alarms (Updated) - Residential buildings (e.g., single family homes)
  • Building Advisory: Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Alarms for Multi-Unit Residential Buildings - Multi-unit residential buildings (e.g., condominiums)

If your citizens have specific questions about this regulation, please advise them to visit saskatchewan.ca/smoke-co-alarms or to contact the Building and Technical Standards Branch at 306-787-4113 or btstandards@gov.sk.ca.