There’s a new mayor coming to the Foothills in January.
MD of Foothills council gave first reading to a bylaw last week that would change the name of the municipality’s chief elected official from “reeve” to “mayor.” The bylaw will come into effect following second and third reading on Jan. 6.
The title change is intended to bring more recognition to the position.
“It’s about the people who don’t understand what a reeve is or does,” said MD of Foothills Reeve Larry Spilak. “In essence, it’s exactly the same role as a mayor but people don’t realize it.”
Spilak said about half the municipal districts in the province have made the change from reeve to mayor.
Though some people who have lived rurally for generations know the meaning of the title “reeve,” a changing population means there are a number of residents who don’t, said Spilak.
“Many people understand what a reeve is, but there are many more who don’t recognize the title of reeve anymore,” said Spilak.
Coun. Ron Chase cast the lone vote against the name change, saying people who live rurally do understand what a reeve does. Despite his vote, Chase said there may be some merit to the mayoral title.
“Any time we’ve gone to functions where there is a mayor, the mayor will always be asked to speak at the reeve will often be left out,” he said. “So it’s pretty fair to say unless we have a mayor, there are many times during important functions that will happen.”
Chase was adamantly opposed to a second initiative being investigated by the MD – rebranding to become a county.
Council discussed the merits of renaming the municipal district to become Foothills County at its Dec. 16 meeting.
Chase said he is in favour of minor changes, like removing the “No. 31” from the end of the MD’s formal name.
“I don’t mind that, and just calling it the Municipal District of Foothills, which is what it is and even if it is called a county that’s still what it is,” he said.
He said people have grown accustomed to “municipal district” and to suddenly change it to “county” would not be appropriate.
“Everyone always talks about living in the MD, you hear it a thousand times,” said Chase. “I can’t see wanting to change it just because Rocky View did.”
Spilak said council is considering rebranding because of the changes the district has undergone over the past few years, not in response to the change of their neighbouring district.
He said the MD is becoming more urban than in the past and becoming a county would reflect its status.
“We have churches, schools, hamlets,” said Spilak. “We’ve got recreation facilities, skating rinks, we’ve never had these things before. Along with those new facilities comes the management of them. It’s a different role.”
He said rebranding is not an unusual concept for municipalities, noting that Okotoks is currently undergoing a similar process and the City of Calgary recently rebranded itself.
Becoming a county would help people recognize what the district does, he said, because many people do not understand what an MD is but recognize the purpose and role of a county.
According to MD of Foothills chief administrative officer Harry Riva-Cambrin, it is an opportune time to rebrand, as the entrance signs into the MD need to be replaced.
New signs are the most costly aspect of any rebranding project, he said, and it is something the MD is already looking into. New MD entrance signs are proposed in the 2016 budget, he said.
“Our signs are old, they’re wood, and they really have reached the end of their usefulness,” said Riva-Cambrin. “We’ll face that cost anyway, whether council decides to change the name or not.”
