General Council Duties

City Council in North Battleford consists of one (1) Mayor, and six (6) Councillors. The Mayoral candidate with the most votes and the six Council candidates with the most votes shall be elected as the 2024-2028 City Council for North Battleford. The City of North Battleford does not have a ward system. All members of Council are expected to abide by Council & Council Committee Code of Ethics Bylaw.

Powers

The Province of Saskatchewan, through legislation, sets out the powers of municipal governments. City Council's main powers are established in The Cities Act and, to a lesser extent, The Planning and Development Act, 2007.

Council exercises its powers by passing bylaws and resolutions.

Responsibilities

All actions of City Council are not limited, but must be for one or more of the following purposes set out in The Cities Act:

• to provide good government;
• to provide services, facilities and other things that, in the opinion of Council, are necessary and desirable for all or part of the City;
• to develop and maintain a safe and viable community;
• to foster economic, social and environmental well-being; and to provide wise stewardship of public assets.

City Council is required to carry out its business in a way which ensures that it is accountable to the people who elect it and is responsible for encouraging and enabling public participation in the government process.

Role

All decisions of Council must be made at a meeting open to the public in which a majority of Council members are present. As a participant in these meetings, it is important to listen to other members of Council and to collectively reach decisions that are in the best interests of the municipality. Council as a whole may perform and exercise the duties and powers imposed and conferred by legislation only by passing resolutions or bylaws.

Meetings

City Council meets the second and fourth Monday of each month (except only one meeting in July and August) at 5:45 p.m. If necessary, Council will meet prior to the start of the regular meeting, at 4:30 p.m. in Executive Committee, to discuss matters in camera. Other meetings held are Special Council meetings as required, Planning Committee meetings held the third Monday of each month (except July, August and December), Budget meetings and other strategic planning sessions.

It is important to note that in order to effectively fulfill your role on Council, a considerable amount of time is required to read agenda packages and other materials provided in preparation for a meeting. Agenda packages are distributed in advance of meetings to enable adequate preparation time.

All meetings are conducted in accordance with the Procedure Bylaw.

Tentative schedule for November and December 2024:

• Dates to be provided when available.

Responsibilities of Councillors

Section 65 of The Cities Act sets out the general duties of Councillors as follows:

• to represent the public and to consider the well-being and interests of the City;
• to participate in developing and evaluating the policies, services and programs of the City;
• to participate in Council meetings and Council committee meetings and meetings of other bodies to which they are appointed by Council;
• to ensure that administrative practices and procedures are in place to implement the decisions of Council;
• to keep in confidence matters discussed in private pursuant to The Local Government Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act at a Council or Council committee meeting until discussed at a meeting held in public;
• to maintain the financial integrity of the City; and
• to perform any other duty or function imposed on Councillors by this or any other Act or by Council.

Although Councillors are considered to be part-time, there is a substantial time commitment required. Apart from preparing for and attending Council meetings, Councillors are required to sit on Standing Committees, as well as external committees to which they may be appointed. Also, Councillors are expected to attend strategic planning, long range planning sessions, Budget deliberations, and participate in community events.

Each Councillor is appointed Deputy Mayor for two months on a rotational basis, in order to Chair Committee meetings, fulfill the obligations of the Mayor in their absence, and to assist the Mayor in areas such as providing civic greetings at public events.  

Councillors should also plan to attend conferences, seminars, conventions, workshops, official openings and social functions during the term.

Based on 35% of the Mayor's remuneration, Councillors currently receive an annual remuneration of $29,787.00.

Responsibilities of the Mayor

Section 66 of The Cities Act sets out the general duties of the Mayor. In addition to performing the duties of a Councillor, the Mayor has the following duties:

• to preside when in attendance at a Council meeting, unless this Act or another Act or a bylaw of Council provides that another Councillor is to preside; and
• to perform any other duty imposed on a Mayor by this or any other Act or by bylaw.

The Mayor is a member of all Council committees and all bodies established by Council pursuant to this Act, unless Council provides otherwise. The Mayor chairs all meetings of City Council. The Mayor and the City Clerk, sign all bylaws adopted by City Council, and contracts and agreements the City enters into.

An office at City Hall is provided for the Mayor, as well as the services of an Executive Assistant.

The office of Mayor involves a considerable commitment to travelling to other centres in the Province, for example attending meetings held with other cities regarding mutual interests and issues and meeting with provincial government officials. Effective January 1, 2020, the Mayor's annual remuneration is calculated based on 80% of a Member of the Legislative Assembly's total annual remuneration for the previous year. The Mayor currently receives an annual remuneration of $85,107.00.

Public Disclosure

Section 116 of The Cities Act requires Council members to file with the City Clerk, within 30 days after being elected, a Public Disclosure Statement, like the form submitted with the nomination papers, in order to reflect information which could create a conflict of interest.

The form requires the disclosure of land holdings in the City of North Battleford that the member of Council or his or her spouse owns, or is owned by a corporation of which the member or his or her spouse is a director or a senior officer or in which the member or his or her spouse has a controlling interest, as well as the name of the member's employer, each corporation in which the member or someone in the member's family has a controlling interest or of which the member or family member is a director or a senior officer, and each partnership or firm which the member of Council is a member.

Public Disclosure Statements are required to be submitted annually. Every member of Council who has any change in any information provided therein, is to provide an update within 30 days after the material change. The City Clerk is required to make each public disclosure statement available for public inspection during normal business hours.

Code of Conduct

Citizens of North Battleford expect high standards of conduct from all government officials. The quality of the City of North Battlefords public administration and governance, as well as its reputation and integrity, depends on the highest standards of conduct from its elected representatives.

Ethics and integrity are at the core of public confidence in government and in the political process. The Council & Council Committee Code of Ethics Bylaw has been established for members of City Council as a guide in performing their duties with impartiality and equality of service to all.