Board Membership
- A Board for each Commission will be made up of all Municipal and Rural Community mayors within each region. Unincorporated area representation will be based on population and tax base ratios. LSD Advisory Committee Chairs in each region would nominate representatives, from among all Chairs in the region, to be appointed by the Minister responsible for Local Government. In an instance where there is an insufficient number of Advisory Committee Chairs, the Minister may appoint LSD representation under the Government’s Agencies, Boards and Commissions appointment process.
- Provincial Local Services Managers, assigned to each region, will provide support to the unincorporated area representatives on the Board, by virtue of their role as administrators of the LSDs. This support would be similar to the support provided to Municipal and Rural Community representatives by the staff of their administrations.
- The Board will have the authority to establish ongoing ‘standing committees’, made up of Board members, to support the development of ongoing initiatives and the resolution of issues prior to review and/or decision-making by the full Board or affected members of a Board.
- The Board will also be authorized to establish ‘ad hoc committees’ to examine issues of a more temporary nature.
- The Board will have the authority to establish or recognize external bodies which can act as ‘advisory committees’ to the Board and Commission. Members of these committees will not have voting privileges, but can serve as beneficial advisors on specific issues.
- The Board will be responsible for establishing by-laws which govern the activities of the Board, and the operations of the Commission, including any administrative requirements.
Staffng
- Each Regional Service Commission will have an Executive Director position which is hired by, and reports to the Board. This position will act as the liaison between the Board and staff members who manage the various services provided, and will have responsibility for the overall administrative management of the Commission. The Executive Directors will also be the primary point of liaison with external partners and the provincial government.
- The Executive Director will be supported by staff responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of each service, and the financial administration and operation of the Commission.
Voting Procedures
- The legislation which sets out requirements for each Board will include voting procedures to ensure fairness, accountability and equity in decision-making processes.
- One of the key objectives of all voting procedures will be to ensure that no single member is able to impose decisions on an entire region.
Funding and Financial Management
- Under the new Regional Service Commission model, each community will continue to pay for the services they receive, but through one service provider, rather than a range of providers.
- As noted above, Regional Service Commissions will not have the authority to tax service users. Municipalities and Rural Communities would be invoiced directly by each Commission for the services they receive, and the Province would be invoiced for the services provided to LSDs in each region.
- Every service provided by a Regional Service Commission will be accounted for separately, including a portion of general overhead. A key principle of the regional services model will be that taxpayers “pay for what they get”.
- Transitional provisions will be developed with respect to surpluses, deficits and reserves to ensure fairness and continuity.
Official Languages
- Regional Service Commissions will be required to meet the requirements of the Offcial Languages Act. Specifically, if there is an English or French minority population of at least 20% region-wide, if one of its member municipalities has an English or French minority population of at least 20%, or one of its member municipalities is a city, the Commission must provide services in both Offcial Languages.
Corporate Status
The Regional Service Commissions will be corporate bodies under the enabling legislation. Their authority will include the ability to:
- buy, hold and sell capital assets;
- submit applications for borrowing to the Municipal Capital Borrowing Board;
- receive or apply for funding under various federal/provincial funding programs;
- collect fees for specific services, such as issuing a building permit;
- continue to generate and sell electricity, as is currently the case with regional solid waste commissions.
Any additional corporate authorities will be determined and identified during the development of legislation.