MUNICIPAL DISTRICT OF BIGHORN – With the population of the Municipal District of Bighorn increasing by 20.7 per cent between 2016 and 2021, a ward boundary review will move forward after it was proposed by administration to reflect an equitable elected representation on council.
An administration report noted ward boundaries have been discussed for the past six years, but it wasn’t until the 2020 budget that it was added to the five-year capital budget.
“The boundary review has been discussed off and on for a number of years,” CAO Robert Ellis said.
Since the MD of Bighorn was created in 1988, there have been several changes to the MD through annexations, with the last major annexation occurring in 1993. While the municipal boundaries have changed for the MD, there have been no changes to the number of seats on council or the number of wards since 1989.
The ward boundaries review is an approved 2022 project within the 2022 capital budget and will cost $30,000 to conduct.
Reeve Lisa Rosvold expressed concern about the latest census related to the population numbers for Dead Man’s Flats and how that may impact the ward boundary review.
“With our updated census, I have the feeling that there was a number of missed people in Dead Man’s Flats,” Rosvold said. “When the extended census results were published, it identified 35 single detached homes surveyed. As you know, there are 70 of them.”
Ellis said aside from going out and doing their own municipal census, which he did not recommend, there was little they could do regarding census population numbers.
“I will mention that to the consultant that the numbers for Dead Man’s Flats are probably low,” he said.
The review will analyze the population of electoral wards, project future population changes in the MD, create a spatial analysis of current ward boundaries and hamlets, and workshop with council to review boundary options and council composition.
Rosvold asked if the review would present solutions, rather than just reviewing the data.
“Are we going to get some results and potential solutions presented?”
Ellis said there would be new boundary options presented.
A final report will be prepared by a consultant, outlining the methodology used in the review and recommendations for council to consider.
Coun. Rick Tuza asked if there would be any changes to the wards themselves.
“Are we looking at potentially creating another ward,” Tuza said. “We have to have an odd number of councillors. Could we be reducing or increasing the number of councillors potentially?”
Ellis said that he couldn’t answer that until the review was completed by the consultant.
The request for proposals – with the project expected to be awarded by Oct. 11 – noted any proposed changes would have to be implemented before the 2025 municipal election.
In the last federal census, the roughly 2,700 square kilometres of Bighorn grew from 1,324 to 1,598 residents. The five population centres are Benchlands, Dead Man’s Flats, Exshaw, Harvie Heights and Lac Des Arcs.
Ward 1 encompass Exshaw, Kananaskis and Seebe and has two councillors, while Ward 2 is Dead Man’s Flats, Lac Des Arcs and Harvie Heights and is represented by one councillor. Ward 3 is split in half on either side of the Trans-Canada Highway, with Ward 4 the largest and having Benchlands as the main population centre.
