Glossary: Common Words Used in Municipal Government
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Resources for Learning about Municipal Government Glossary Common words used in municipal government Acclamation: A candidate is elected by Authority: The power and permission to speak, acclamation when there are no opponents make decisions, give orders, and enforce rules. running against him or her in an election. Boundary: An imaginary line or border that Accountability: People are expected to be indicates the limits or extent of an area. responsible for their actions and may be Budget: An estimate of income (also called required to explain them to others. revenue or money coming in) and expenditures Representatives are accountable to the (money that is spent) for a set period of time. residents of the municipality in which they are elected. Built environment: the buildings and spaces in a municipality, such as homes, schools, parks, Administration: The people in the municipal commercial, and industrial areas, as well as the organization who are responsible for making infrastructure that supports and connects sure policies and decisions of council are them, such as roads and sidewalks. carried out for the day-to-day operations. The head of administration is the Chief By-election: an election held to fill a vacant Administrative Officer. position at a date other than the general election date if an elected municipal official Advisory council: a group of people who are must step down or resign part way through appointed to help with the implementation of his/her four-year term of office. the policies and decisions of an area. For example, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs is Bylaw: a law passed and enforced by a local responsible for improvement districts (ID), and authority in accordance with the powers given to an elected advisory council guides the activities that authority. In Alberta, the authority to make of the ID. bylaws is given to municipal governments through the Municipal Government Act. Appointed: being hired into, designated, or chosen for a role. In some municipalities, the Bylaw enforcement officers: municipal mayor or reeve is chosen by and from the employees who enforce the bylaws of the group of councillors who have been elected by municipality. the citizens. The Chief Administrative Officer is hired by council and appointed to the position. www.alberta.ca/municipal-government-education-and-training ©2020 Government of Alberta | Published: January 2020 | ISBN Electronic: Candidate: a person nominated to run for Council: refers to people who are elected election for a position on council. officials responsible for representing the interests of their residents. Chief Administrative Officer (CAO): The main appointed official of a municipality who is Councillor / Elected Official / Council Member: responsible for the day-to-day operations of Councillors are elected representatives of the the municipality. The CAO hired is hired by the municipality. municipal council to lead and manage the Council meeting: meetings of the elected municipality’s employees. members of council, where community Chief Elected Official: the person who leads concerns, issues, policies, projects, and actions and is the public spokesperson for the council are debated, discussed and vote upon. and the municipality. The title of the Chief County / Municipal District: a rural area that Elected Official in a municipality is generally can include many different landscapes such as Mayor or Reeve. farmland, forested areas, mountains and Citizen: a person who lives in a municipality. parkland. Counties can include smaller communities such as hamlets or country City: a large urban municipality with a residential subdivisions. population of at least 10 000 people. Country residential subdivisions: areas that are Community: a group of people who have usually in a municipal district or county, but something in common, such as a geographic near an urban community, on which housing is location, a common identity, or shared goals. built. Community Scan: a description of ways of life, Democracy: a system of government in which questions, decisions, interests and issues that people choose their rulers by voting for them in influence and affect the community. A elections. community scan collects information and examples about the community, and identifies Development: can refer to an area of houses or issues and challenges that municipal buildings which have been built by property governments can deal with. developers, or changes in a municipality, such as new projects, neighbourhoods, buildings, Consensus: a general agreement between facilities and services. individuals or groups of people. Electors / Electorate: those people who can Constituents: The residents, property owners, elect, or vote for, representatives who are and business owners in a municipality, responsible for making decisions and generally considered to be those who are able representing the people who live and work in a to vote in an election. particular area. In Alberta, a person can vote in www.alberta.ca/municipal-government-education-and-training ©2020 Government of Alberta | Published: January 2020 | ISBN Electronic: municipal elections if the person is at least 18 municipality) or organization (e.g. non-profit years old, is a Canadian citizen, has lived in society). Alberta for six months before the election day Governance: the rules and processes that guide and resides in the municipality on election day. the way decisions are made in and between Elected at-large: Councillors are elected by all formal institutions, such as governments, eligible voters in the municipality. schools, or businesses. Election: An election is a process in which Hamlet: a community of five or more dwellings, people vote to choose a person or group of boundaries that help identify the community, a people to hold an official position, such as name, and contains land that is used for non- residents voting for municipal councillors. residential purposes. Electoral Division/District/Ward: a geographic Improvement District (ID): The provincial area that a municipality can use to divide areas government is responsible for all of the for election purposes, based on the number of functions of municipal government in people who live there. A municipality may have improvement districts, including the levy and one or more councillors for every electoral collection of taxes. The residents of an division. improvement district may elect representatives, who are subsequently Electoral process: the manner in which voters appointed by the Minister, to an advisory elect representatives from those nominated as council that assists in its administration and candidates in an election. governance. Five of the eight IDs in Alberta are Expenses / Expenditures: money that used to located in national parks. purchase goods and services. Legislation: laws that are put into place and Family and community support services enforced by a government. (FCSS): a service area in a municipality that Levy: an amount of money charged and provides programs such as Meals-on-Wheels, collected. seniors transportation, youth recreation programs, and mental health supports. Lobby: to try to influence and put pressure on representatives from different levels of First Nations reserve: a legal entity that is not government to make their opinions known part of any municipality. The federal through strategies such as media campaigns government is responsible for First Nations and petitions. reserves. Lobby group is a group that tries to change or Govern: to make decisions for or have control influence policy or legislation towards its over a specific geographic area (e.g. a interests. www.alberta.ca/municipal-government-education-and-training ©2020 Government of Alberta | Published: January 2020 | ISBN Electronic: Local authorities: are areas in Alberta that parkland. Municipal districts can include provide governance to a geographic area. smaller communities such as hamlets or Examples of local authorities are municipalities, country residential subdivisions. improvement districts, regional health Municipal Employees: people who are hired to authorities, and school districts. work for the municipality and are responsible Local / General Elections: residents of the for following its policies as well as providing community vote for individuals who will services to the community. represent their interests on the municipality’s Municipal Government Act (MGA): The council. Local elections are held every four Municipal Government Act is the legislative years in Alberta. framework in which all municipalities and municipal Local / Municipal Government: the level of entities across the Province of Alberta operate. government given the power to make decisions Under the Municipal Government Act (MGA), municipalities are responsible for providing good that relate to local issues and services. Local government; services, facilities or other things that, governments work within communities to in the opinion of council, are necessary or desirable represent the interests and goals of community for all or a part of the municipality; and to develop members, and make decisions on what services and maintain safe and viable communities. will be provided in the community. Municipality: Municipalities have clearly Mandatory: something that is required. defined boundaries and are formed to provide Mayor / Reeve: the title of a Chief Elected government to the population within those Official. The Chief Elected Official is the person boundaries. who chairs council meetings