Courtice aims to address RM staff burnout

Making sure municipal administration doesn’t burn out and having better representation in the Keystone Planning District are Bill Courtice’s main goals in his bid for RM of Cornwallis reeve.

Courtice, who served as reeve between 2018 and 2022, said staff burnout in the office was a big problem when he was in office. Staff retired and new employees couldn’t be trained because of the COVID-19 pandemic and because remaining staff didn’t have the time to spare, he said.

While more staff has since been hired, making sure the rural municipality can run smoothly with a healthy number of staff is important.

“If you don’t have enough staff to deal with certain situations, they get burnt out,” Courtice said on Wednesday. “It gets put on the back burner, or there might not be anybody there to deal with it right away.”

Those situations were common during tax season and when residents had complaints. Having more staff could also mean less money spent on audits, he said.

“You’re spending a little bit of money to save a lot of money in the end.”

Courtice is the owner of Bill’s Prop Shop in Cornwallis. He became reeve after receiving 36 per cent of the vote in a three-person race in 2018, then lost to Sam Hofer in 2022.

Hofer resigned in April after the province’s ombudsman found he contravened the Municipal Act. His resignation triggered the byelection, which will take place Dec. 3.

Courtice faces Mike Waddell, a former councillor.

The Keystone Planning District — which administers building permits and development services for the municipalities of Cornwallis, Elton, Souris-Glenwood and Whitehead — also needs more employees, Courtice said.

“The (City of Brandon) is trying to grow. We’re trying to grow. Elton’s trying to grow. It’s all about employees again,” he said. “If they don’t supply the employees to do building inspections, do their part on the planning and make sure everything is in the right row to be legal, then we get left out, or somebody gets left out.”

Other priorities for Courtice include working with residents on their concerns and planning for the future.

He said that includes working with the chief administrative officer and council directly to address concerns people have.

“When I was reeve for that four years, I took it to heart what the residents (were) bringing forward as a concern to them,” Courtice said.

“I would try and deal with certain situations on my own, with council backing me and the CAO backing me, because sometimes you’ve got to get your CAO involved so that she can direct the problem in the right direction.”

Courtice said criticism he faced from Hofer during the 2022 election campaign was unfounded, noting that he hadn’t faced any sanctions while he was in power, while councillors gave Hofer a 270-day suspension along with the ombudsman’s findings.

“The proof is in the pudding here. Who’s the better leader?” Courtice asked.

He also encouraged everyone to get out and vote.

The December byelection will see the winning candidate hold office until the end of October 2026, when the next municipal election is scheduled to take place.

People can vote on election day between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. at the Brandon Hills Church, Sprucewoods Community Hall or the RM office.

They can also vote at an advance poll at the RM office on Nov. 24 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. or Nov. 29 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

» alambert@brandonsun.com