A group of Carbon residents is petitioning the Village to unseat its chief administrative officer.
In a four-page letter addressed to the Village of Carbon with the names Marie Kooiman and Allana Cuningham, it asks for the village to remove the CAO Vanessa Van der Meer.
The letter cites several reasons, including challenging the CAO’s salary is not in line when compared provincially. It also notes there are concerns with staffing.
Other concerns include Council going into in-camera too often, and members of the community feel targeted by bylaw infractions.
In a guide from Municipal Affairs, the Municipal Government Acts allows for residents to petition for a new bylaw, amend or repeal an existing bylaw, to hold a public meeting, or vote on an advertised bylaw or resolution. Electors can also petition for local improvements. To change a bylaw a petition has to have 10 per cent of the population. For local improvements, a petition needs two-thirds of the owners who would be liable to pay for the local improvement and represents half of the value of the assessments for the land.
When a petition is filed to the CAO of the municipality, they are responsible for determining the sufficiency of the petition and must make a declaration within 45 days as to whether the petition is sufficient.
The Minister of Municipal Affairs can be petitioned to form a municipality, to change the status of a municipality, to undertake a viability review, to appoint an auditor, or for an inspection into the affairs of a municipality. An inspection requires 20 per cent of the population.
The Carbon petition notes the Village has a population of 422. It noted 20 per cent of the population would be 85 voters. The instigators of the petition indicated they have already collected more signatures.
