Yorkton Councillor Aaron Kienle was back in school recently.
Kienle, in his first term on council, attended the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association Summer School held at the University of Regina.
“I believe in the past it was a Mayor’s program, but this year they opened it up to municipal councillors,” said Kienle, who added he jumped at a chance to attend seeing it “as another opportunity to learn and get educated.”
Much as the learning came from the interaction over three days with the other participants. Kienle said the event was a nice middle ground between the SUMA AGM which is so large it is almost intimidating, and regional SUMA events which involves only councillors in the local area.
With about 100 attending the school it was a chance “to learn about issues they are facing,” said Kienle.
The actual sessions covered a range of topics such as Malcolm Eaton sharing his experiences from 10-years as mayor of Humboldt.
“That was a really good first session,” said Kienle.
Yorkton’s Mayor Bob Maloney and City Manager Lonnie Kaal gave a presentation on the Council-Administration dynamic. The relationship between the two is essential for a smoothly operated municipality, and the session focused on understanding the difference between council’s role as policy makers and the role of administration.
“They discussed how it’s supposed to function,” said Kienle, adding it comes down to understanding what a Councillor “can do, and can’t do.”
A session was also held focusing on women in politics.
The cost of attending the school was covered by the City, with the opportunity available to all Councillors.
