NEWS PHOTO RYAN DAHLMAN
Mayor Linnsie Clark and councillors are seen in chambers following the delivery of a municipal inspection report that includes 70 recommendations for the city moving forward.
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
City Councillors and the city’s manager have more than two months to publicly review and decide to adopt or dismiss 70 recommendations that were made in a municipal inspection report conducted on the management, administration and operations of the city.
The directive issued by the Minister of Municipal Affairs during a public council meeting Monday night requires all councillors and Anne Mitchell, city manager, to review the entire 207 page report and provide a detailed action plan to the ministry by Oct. 1.
“Our main finding here is that governance has at times been irregular, improper and improvident,” said Municipal Inspector Ian McCormack. “Irregular we define as … not according to established practice or principles or law, not normal, not following the usual rules about what should be done. Improper is deviating from fact, truth or established usage, unsuitable, not appropriate or not conforming to acceptable standards of conduct. And improvident is lacking foresight, taking no thought to future needs, spendthrift, not providing or saving for the future, not wise or sensible regarding money.”
The inspection was originally initiated in Sept. 2024 following a resolution by council and was approved by the former Minister of Municipal Affairs, Ric McIver.
The inspection was conducted last October and covers a wide range of topics including council conduct, administration operations and organizational structure of the city.
The ministerial order outlined five core issues that were investigated:
1. Council members engaging in administrative duties,
2. Dysfunction and fractured leadership at the council table,
3. Governance inefficiencies affecting operations,
4. Lack of clarity in structure and purpose,
5. Procedural breakdowns during council meetings.
The independent city inspection included approximately 25 interviews, document reviews, media coverage and public input and aims to support the municipality in correcting identified concerns to ensure sound governance and appropriate administrative practices moving forward.
The inspection highlighted patterns of dysfunction, strained relationships, procedural breakdowns and leadership issues, said McCormack during his presentation.
“The 2025 State of the City address is an example of this,” said McCormack. “Typically this event is one where the mayor indicates what the city has done and what’s on the horizon this year. The State of the City address focused more on the mayor’s opinions and insights.”
During his address, McCormack highlighted six key recommendations made from the 70 in the inspection report.
1. It is recommended to review and adhere to meeting procedures. This is identified as a way to make meetings run more “expeditiously and more predictably.”
2. Review and update Council Code of Conduct bylaw at least twice a term to reinforce expected behaviours and responsibilities. However Bill 50 repealed all Code of Conduct Bylaws in May so this recommendation does not carry as much weight.
3. That all members of Medicine Hat City Council respect the sanctity of the council table and safeguard privileged information until it is approved for public release.
4. To restore regular meetings between the City Manager and Mayor. “Regular meetings between the chief elected official and essentially the chief executive officer for the municipality are a way for both council and administration to share information in a timely fashion,” said McCormack. “These had happened, but more recently have not happened, leading to some confusion in role and a lack of communication.”
5. It is advised Medicine Hat revise its council orientation process to align with changes to the Municipal Government Act. “There were strong feelings from members of council that the orientation received in 2021 was more of an ‘onboarding’ than an understanding of what the goal of governance truly is. And with four new members on the city council, that role was a very important one to understand.”
6. Create a new strategic planning process for the 2025-2029 city councillors and engage with an external facilitator. City council is advised to review the strategic plan annually to set priorities, maintain alignment and check-in on progress.
The report also includes more than 30 recommendations across governance, administration and finance and focuses on role clarity, updating documentation, reinforcing trust, respect and accountability.
“The issues and challenges faced in the city have been really not about legislative compliance, they have primarily been about the breakdown in interpersonal relationships,” Gary Sandberg, assistant deputy minister said before explaining all three directives council must adhere to.
“Council and CIO must review all recommendations in the inspection report and provide a report to the minister on how the city will address each recommendation in the inspection report or alternatively an explanation on why an action will not be taken for any individual recommendation,” said Sandberg. “The review of the inspection report recommendations and preparation of the detailed action plan and timeline are to be conducted in open council meetings and approved by council resolution and delivered to the minister by no later than October 1 of this year.”
The full report itself is found by visiting https://open.alberta.ca/publications/municipal-inspection-report-city-of-medicine-hat#detailed
