There will still be eight members of Thompson City Council following the upcoming municipal election, which is set to take place on October 24th.
Council had been considering a reduction in size in an effort to save money, but that will not be possible this time around.
Councillors Duncan Wong and Ron Matechuk had been leading the charge to keep council with eight members plus the Mayor, saying that reducing would produce minimal monetary savings and an increased work for those six councillors. One of the main arguments for reducing was that other cities in Manitoba around the same size, such as Steinbach and Portage La Prairie, only have six councillors plus a Mayor.
Changing the size of council requires legislative action by the Provincial Government, which Mayor Dennis Fenske said they weren’t able to get done before the April 27th deadline, as any changes, resolutions and by-laws must be in place 180 days before voters head to the polls.
Council had voted to amend the Thompson Charter Act to remove any reference to the size of council, which would give them freedom to shrink or grow at their discretion.
Mayor Fenske said that the Province has said they can’t fit making the change into their schedule this year, and that the City has requested they look at it next year so that they can align the charter to the Municipal Act.
