Municipal Status
Within their limited jurisdictions Municipalities are autonomous, responsible and accountable to their citizens and to the province. Their powers and responsibilities are regulated through the Local Government Act of British Columbia, the Community Charter, and, in the case of Vancouver, the Vancouver Charter. They have the power of a natural person, the power to expropriate, and the power to establish and enforce bylaws. They are able to raise funds through property taxes and user fees, and borrow through the Municipal Finance Authority to pay for services and capital costs.
Municipalities are governed by a mayor and council who are democratically elected on the third Saturday of November every three years. The most recent municipal election occurred on November 19, 2011; the next one will take place on November 15, 2014. Each municipality is a member of a regional district to which their councils elect representatives. The board of directors of the regional district is used as a forum to discuss regional issues.
To become a municipality, a community, with the assistance of the provincial Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, defines its borders and holds a referendum on the issue. If successful the Cabinet of BC issues a letters patent incorporating the community. Part 2 of the Local Government Act sets out a classification scheme that gives each new municipality a designation. If the population is less than 2,500 people the new municipality is designated a village, if between 2,500 and 5,000 a town, and if greater than 5,000 a city. If the new municipality has an area greater than 800 hectares (2,000 acres) and an average population density of less than 5 persons per hectare then is it designated a district municipality. There have been 5 other designations granted: an Indian government district granted to Sechelt Indian Government District; an island municipality granted to Bowen Island; a mountain resort municipality granted to Sun Peaks; a regional municipality granted to Northern Rockies Regional Municipality; and a resort municipality granted to Whistler. The municipality must request change in designation but is not compelled to do so, despite population growth or loss - Greenwood has retained its city status, for example, rather than relinquishing it as other boomtowns of its era have done. There is no longer any legal difference between the designations.
Read more about this topic: List Of Municipalities In British Columbia
Famous quotes containing the words municipal and/or status:
“No sane local official who has hung up an empty stocking over the municipal fireplace, is going to shoot Santa Claus just before a hard Christmas.”
—Alfred E. Smith (1873–1944)
“The censorship method ... is that of handing the job over to some frail and erring mortal man, and making him omnipotent on the assumption that his official status will make him infallible and omniscient.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)