How Outdated Policies Undermine Municipal Governance

By Lorri Matthewson (Founder and Lead Consultant Matthewson & Co.)

www.smallplacesrock.com

Municipalities run on a combination of legislation, bylaws, policies, and day-to-day administrative practices.  In theory, these elements work together to create a transparent, consistent, and legally compliant system of local governance. In reality, many municipalities rely far more on practice than on policy—and often don’t realize that there could be consequences.

Across the municipal sector, it is common to find policies that are outdated, ignored or so poorly maintained that they no longer reflect how the municipality actually operates. This gap between written policy and real practice is not just an administrative inconvenience; it is a governance problem that directly affects Council authority, organizational accountability, and legislative compliance.

The reality is that many of the smaller population communities operate without any policy at all. The work evolves constantly; new staff bring new ways and habits, technology impacts workflows, legislation is amended, council priorities shift, and emergencies force improvision. But the policy remains decades old, incomplete, illegal, and irrelevant.

That exposes the municipality to some serious risk.

Where there are no current, clear policies, staff must fall back on habit, preference, personal judgement, and dependence on what the last person did. Overtime, the policies gather dust while the real operating system of the municipality is largely based on practice that may or may not be compliant with the legislation.

The council’s authority is not unlimited in any province. It is defined by provincial and municipal legislation, bylaws, and policy. Council governs through direction, not through day-to-day management of the staff. Policies are one of the main tools allowing Council to set expectations, establish standards, delegate authority, and provide consistency across administration. When policies are outdated or ignored, Council loses its ability to govern effectively.

Administration fills the gap with informal practices when there is a lack of policy. Council cannot demonstrate due diligence, and public trust erodes. The Council’s authority only exists where it is written, approved, and implemented. Without the policy, Council authority becomes symbolic rather than functional. Service delivery becomes inconsistent, and eventually, may drift into legislative non-compliance.

A policy manual is a governance tool. It is a risk management tool. It serves as a communication device. It provides the foundation for administrative consistency, so it is important that it is current, clear, aligned with the legislation, and most importantly, used.

Policy IS governance. When polices are current, intentional, and aligned with the legislation, those polices become one of the most powerful tools the Council has to lead effectively.

Matthewson & Co. offers flexible training delivered both in person and online, equipping your team with practical tools and the confidence to lead effectively. Visit Our Services | Matthewson & Co. for more information.

Our next Community Economic Development webinar will take place on Monday, April 20th. To register, visit Community Economic Development in Small Population Communities Tickets, Monday, Apr 20 from 11 am to 12:30 pm CDT | Eventbrite

“People Just Don’t Care” and Other Misguided Municipal Myths

By Lorri Matthewson (Founder and Lead Consultant Matthewson & Co.)

www.smallplacesrock.com

“People just don’t care anymore.”

I cannot count the number of times I’ve heard that around a Council table, or in an administrator’s office. It is the easiest explanation for the low turnout at the annual meeting, empty meetings, and quiet comment boxes.

Also, “People just like to bitch.”

Again, the easiest explanation for the popularity of rants and raves pages, the growing unrest amongst the population aimed at the Council, Administration and staff, and the visible frustration amongst the people who live in our communities.

It is the easiest explanation, but it is not a factual one. Consider this; people care deeply about their homes, their roads, their taxes, their kids, their farms, their safety, and their friends and neighbors.

What they don’t care about is the way municipalities traditionally expect the citizenry to participate occasionally when they ignore them the rest of the year. And that’s not a universal character flaw; it is a design flaw in the municipal process.

If you are having a public meeting once a year, or worse, stopped having it because people stopped showing up you are doing it wrong. A single, formal, once a year meeting it not community engagement. It is a performance. It is we are doing this because we must, and we are doing it begrudgingly.

For some people, the meeting was held on a day, or time when they just couldn’t make it.

For some people, they are not connecting to the agenda, the issues feel abstract.

For most, they believe their input is not welcome, and that you made the decisions before you involved the community. Therefore, what good is their input?

None of that means they don’t care, it means the meeting doesn’t work for them. If we only measure caring by who shows up at 7:00 PM on a Tuesday in February, we are measuring the wrong thing.

Ask any councillor who isn’t hiding out at the public event, ask any councillor who is getting their groceries, or at the coffee shop…they care plenty when they are looking for the grader, when the taxes go up, or when the water bill spikes. They care when a project affects their road, their kids, or their wallet.

People care in the moment—it is not that they don’t care. They are, mostly, overwhelmed.

Like you, residents are juggling work, family obligations, aging parents, health, finances and exhaustion. Add in the political climate, and the general sense that the world is going to hell in a handbasket, most people are not sitting at home going “Eff the council, I don’t care about my town.” They are thinking “I’m too tired to go anywhere…”

Engagement that requires people to rearrange their lives is engagement that will fail. You’ve heard of the butt groove? My couch has one, and once I get my butt settled into that groove the only thing that will move me is bedtime.

What will get me to an evening meeting is when I’m clear why I need to be there, the timing works and I am reasonably sure I’m not walking into an argument. People show up when the issue affects them directly, the information—the why they should go is clearly presented, and they believe their voice matters.

That is why a social media post gets 200 comments, but a public hearing gets 4 people. It isn’t apathy, it is accessibility. They can give their opinion in 2 seconds from the comfort of their home.

If we want people to care with us, we have to stop assuming they don’t care at all, because that affects how we frame our messages to the public. Instead, we should ask:

1. Did we explain the issue clearly?

2. Did we let people know about the meeting or engagement well in advance?

3. Did we offer more than one way to participate?

4. Did we tell them what we did with their information the last time we asked for it?

Truthfully, people do care, and they always have.

Our job as administrators, leaders and community builders is to create engagement that respects people’s time, their realities, and their humanity.

People don’t need to care more. We need to engage better. And when we do, the difference happens right away.

Matthewson & Co. offers flexible, high‑impact council training delivered both in person and online, giving your team practical tools and confidence to lead effectively. Visit Our Services | Matthewson & Co. for more information.

Our next Community Engagement & Collaboration webinar will take place on Tuesday March 24th. To register, visit Community Engagement & Collaboration Tickets, Tuesday, Mar 24 from 3 pm to 4:30 pm CDT | Eventbrite

Build It and They Will Come… But What If They Don’t?

By Lorri Matthewson, Founder, Matthewson & Co.

www.smallplacesrock.com

I love the peace of small‑town living. I love the way generations of the same families shape a place, and how newcomers add new energy and ideas. I love the civic pride, the beauty of our prairie communities, and the way people show up for each other.

And I especially love the “get‑after‑it” spirit that builds rinks, pools, firehalls, and community spaces through sheer determination and volunteer power. Those fundraisers and volunteer hours create a quality of life that rivals anywhere in the country. They are the heartbeat of rural life.

But alongside that strength sits a blind spot—one that shows up when communities take on large capital projects without fully understanding what it will cost to operate, maintain, and eventually replace them.

Grants help build things. Volunteers help build things. But neither of those pay the bills for the next 40 years. And too often, those long‑term costs aren’t calculated or shared with the public before decisions are made. Uninformed consent is not consent. If a project can’t withstand public scrutiny, it’s not ready.

This isn’t about saying don’t build things. It’s about building the right things, for the right reasons, with eyes wide open.

1. Do You Need It?

Needing space for equipment doesn’t automatically mean a full‑size, fully loaded firehall. Sometimes it means a pole shed. The question is not “What would be nice?” but “What solves the problem responsibly?”

2. Will We Use It?

If your current facility is underused and your census shows population decline, a new building won’t reverse that trend. Usage doesn’t magically increase because a building is newer.

If you can’t reasonably expect the facility to sustain itself through users, then you must calculate what it will cost—and how the municipality will cover that cost. That’s basic asset management.

3. Can the Existing Asset Be Repaired?

There is a world of difference between a $1‑million repair and a $10‑million rebuild.

At 5% interest, a $10‑million project costs $500,000 a year in interest alone—before paying down a single dollar of principal. If 500 kids use the facility, that’s $1,000 per child per year just to service the debt.

Nobody would choose that if they were paying out of their own pocket. Municipal math shouldn’t be any different.

Even if you have 100% of the capital cost covered, operations and maintenance will cost two to three times the build cost over the asset’s life. A $10‑million facility will cost roughly $20‑million to operate and maintain over 40 years—about $500,000 per year. In a community with fewer than 100 kids, that matters.

4. Do You Have a Plan for Operations and Maintenance?

Once the ribbon is cut, the bills begin.

Municipalities must balance their budgets. Every new cost must come from somewhere:

• higher taxes,

• higher user fees, or

• reduced service elsewhere.

Reserves help, but they don’t last forever. A long‑term plan is not optional.

Why “Build It and They Will Come” Is Not a Strategy

It’s a great movie line. It is a terrible municipal plan.

It assumes demand will appear simply because the facility exists. In rural communities, that assumption almost always collapses under the weight of:

• small and aging populations,

• long‑term operating costs,

• limited tax capacity, and

• the reality that municipalities cannot create demand.

Infrastructure does not create population growth. Municipalities cannot force business investment or market interest.

And when “they” don’t come, current residents carry the full burden through higher taxes or reduced services.

Across the Prairies, we see the results:

• empty industrial parks,

• oversized water plants,

• underused recreation facilities,

• subdivisions with no buyers.

These become long‑term liabilities, not assets.

The Fundamentals Matter

Before building anything, responsible municipalities start with:

• demonstrated need,

• feasibility studies,

• realistic usage projections,

• lifecycle cost analysis,

• phased development, and

• commitments from partners or users.

If someone is promising growth, ask for letters of intent, cost‑sharing, or pre‑sales before a shovel hits the ground.

So, build it and they will come…but what if they don’t?

Communities do not grow because we build a new facility. The grow when there are strong fundamentals. They grow where the infrastructure is solid, where the governance is solid, and where there are jobs, and housing. Without the fundamentals in place, communities can, and do build beautiful, underused facilities.

Matthewson & Co. supports communities with practical, plain‑language asset management services that help councils plan, prioritize, and invest wisely for the long term.

Visit Our Services | Matthewson & Co. for more information.

Our next Asset Management webinar will take place on Monday March 23^rd. To register visit Asset Management 101 Tickets, Monday, Mar 23 from 3 pm to 4:30 pm CDT | Eventbrite