Municipal Incorporation Process

The following is a summary of the municipal incorporation process:

1. An individual or group contacts the ministry to indicate that there is community support for an incorporation study and to inquire about the process for incorporation.
2. The ministry, along with local citizens, assess the local context to determine if a broad base of community support exists for considering incorporation and that the community has the characteristics that would make a municipality feasible.
3. An incorporation study committee is formed from residents that is broadly representative of the community.
4. The committee asks the minister for approval in principle to conduct an incorporation study.
5. If the minister decides that approval in principle can be given, the committee establishes terms of reference for both the committee and the incorporation study and selects an independent consultant to conduct the study.
6. The committee makes a formal request to the minister for a restructure planning grant to fund the study.
7. If the minister approves the grant, the consultant works with the committee to produce an objective study on the impact of municipal incorporation.
8. The ministry provides an offer of provincial assistance, financial and otherwise, that it will give to the municipality if it incorporates.  This information is included in the municipal incorporation study.
9. The final study is presented to the community for public discussion and input.
10. Based on community input, the committee decides whether to recommend to the minister that a vote be held to decide if the majority of the electorate support municipal incorporation.
11. If the committee recommends that a vote be held and the minister agrees, an order to hold the vote will be given. Community meetings are held leading up to the vote so that local citizens have every opportunity to make an informed choice.
12. If local citizens vote in favour of municipal incorporation, Letters Patent are prepared for approval by Cabinet. Letters Patent are the legal documents creating the municipality. These include information such as the effective date of incorporation, the name of the municipality, the council size, and identifies other transitional issues such as the transfer of services to the municipality from the regional district and any improvement district dissolved as a consequence of incorporation.
13. The ministry hires an interim municipal administrator to prepare everything necessary for the inaugural meeting of council.
14. The first municipal election takes place on a date set out in the Letters Patent.