Back in June of 2004, Snow Lake was a different place. It was a community that was seen to be waning rather than on the rise. The Northern Store, which had held a presence in the town since February 1949 closed in January of that year and the on-again, off-again closure of The New Britannia Mine was slated for year-end (it would be off again prior to closing for good on Jan. 27, 2005).
At that time, the consensus around Snow Lake's council table was that things would likely get tough before they got better and if belt tightening needed to happen, the council should be one of the first areas to come under scrutiny.
After some discussion, a bylaw to reduce the number of council seats from six to four was brought forward. Several council members at the time felt the workload could be handled by fewer members, and it was also an attempt to reduce costs to the town from the payment of council indemnities and expenses related to time off work attending to the town's business. The savings were pegged at anywhere from $6,500 to $10,000, depending upon the amount of time off required. However, after two readings of the bylaw and discussion around the community, it failed to get the support needed to carry it through its third reading and was narrowly defeated in a 4-3 split vote.
Fast-forward to 2014: The outlook for Snow Lake is the polar opposite. With a 25-year mine in the offing and the promise of more stores opening than closing, the discussion around a smaller council has once again come to the forefront. However, it seems the ideology behind the notion has altered somewhat. "There are several thoughts behind this idea," Mayor Clarence Fisher advised in an e-mail response to a query eliciting comments and the rationale behind the prospect. "Many communities our size have four councillors instead of six. Four is by no means unusual."
The mayor says that having fewer councillors will make members more accountable. "A smaller council makes each person more responsible for the decisions that are made," he said.
As was the case the last time this was attempted, money is also at the crux of it. However, the proposal isn't being pondered to outright save money, but to keep council indemnities from increasing for all by eliminating two positions and using the money saved to boost the indemnities of those that remain. "The indemnities that councillors are paid in Snow Lake are very low compared to the provincial average," said Fisher. "For example, as the mayor, I receive $500 a month. In most communities of our size, the mayor's compensation averages about $1,000. Reducing the number of people would also allow us to raise indemnities closer to the provincial average, while not drastically changing the overall dollars that we spend on general government."
Fisher says that overall, he thinks this is a valuable idea and one that doesn't reduce the effectiveness of the council in any way. He says that there has been no decision made on the topic and that it has only just been brought up for discussion at the council table. "It was sent to committee for further discussion," Fisher said. "For this to actually take place, we will have to alter our bylaw, which will take a few different meetings." In the meantime the council has advertised for people to provide them with feedback on the issue. If locals have an opinion on the matter, the council wants to hear it.
