The Village of Cremona reached another roadblock recently when Mayor Leslie Abrams and councillor Malinda Whittle handed in their resignations, leaving Karel Beckman the lone remaining councillor.
Cremona’s interim CAO Terry Lofstrom sent out a public announcement addressing the resignations, stating that notice of the situation had been sent to the minister of Municipal Affairs. The public notice also indicated that the village’s municipal office would continue to operate in a regular manner, but that council meetings would not be held, as there is no quorum of council.
Beckman said that much of what happens now is out of Cremona’s hands, and that following its review of the situation, Municipal Affairs would most likely appoint an official administrator to act as council until a by-election could be held to replace the vacancies left by Abrams and Whittle.
“From my perspective, this development is positive,” said Beckman, “as I feel the village is better off at a stand-still than it is to be moving in a counter-productive direction.
Through Beckman’s time as a councillor, he said he has seen the residents of Cremona turned off by the acrimony and lack of civility during council meetings, even discouraging people from attending meetings.
“We now have an opportunity to dial down the rhetoric, mend fences and rebuild our community,” said Beckman. “With the advent of four-year council terms, I hope that in October all eligible Cremona voters turn out to vote.”
As for a dissolution study being conducted on the village, Beckman said Municipal Affairs had implemented a viability review to be done instead, and that during council’s Feb. 26 meeting, Abrams and Lofstrom, who represented Cremona as part of the review team, indicated that the review determined that the village was in fact viable.
“It is therefore now unlikely that the village will be dissolved,” said Beckman, who went on to say that he hopes one recommendation from the review is adhered to; abolishing an electoral process that has separate votes for mayor and council members, and that there is a return to selecting a mayor from the elected councillors.
“It is a real possibility that splitting up the candidates in a village of this size does not ensure the best council for the residents,” said Beckman. “I intend to run, and if the residents of this village approve of my efforts to be transparent and express their concerns, then I hope they would give me the opportunity to continue to work on council.”
Just weeks prior to Abrams and Whittle handing in their resignations, both voted in favour of expanding from three to a five-person council. Lofstrom said this bylaw would not take affect until after the next general election, which is set for this coming October.
Beckman remains confident that Cremona will move forward, and that the trials and tribulations those who live in the community have been privy to could also be a learning experience.
“Now that the residents of our village have witnessed the importance of the ballots that are cast,” he said, “perhaps this is the year that we will finally start to move in a positive, constructive and open direction.”
An attempt to contact Abrams for comment was not returned.
