MOOSE JAW - Councillors Jamey Logan and Dawn Luhning have been appointed to the Board of Police Commissioners on an interim basis for the next month, with permanent council members to be named in January.
During its first regular meeting of this term on Nov. 25, city council voted to appoint the two members to the board for a period from Nov. 25 to Tuesday, Dec. 31. The three nominees who put their names forward were Logan, Luhning and Patrick Boyle.
The appointment of temporary council members to the police board was required because The Police Act, 1990, says that the group must meet before the end of the year.
Following the municipal election on Nov. 13, new council members were sworn in, which meant the terms of all councillors on boards, committees and commissions ended, creating vacancies for the remainder of this year.
The former councillors who sat on the police board were Doug Blanc and Crystal Froese; both were defeated in the municipal election. Meanwhile, the civilian members on the board are Kelly Baxter and Patricia Martynook.
Besides Logan and Luhning, Mayor James Murdock is automatically appointed to the board because of his role in the municipality.
In the coming weeks, council members will have the opportunity to express their interest in serving on the various city boards, committees and commissions for next year.
During the meeting, Coun. Heather Eby pointed out that the composition of the police board is predominantly comprised of council members, which — to her — makes the group more political than it should be. She hoped that issue could be addressed next year and that more citizens-at-large could be appointed.
“I know that that’s been questioned in the past (about) why we even have citizen appointments when the majority of the vote is councillors and mayor anyway … ,” she said. “And I’m not putting my name forward, so (the idea for change) won’t come from me, but whoever ends up there can have that discussion with their board.”
In response, Luhning said that The Police Act dictates the composition of police boards, so the province would have to enact new legislation to change how many elected officials are with those groups.
While such changes probably wouldn’t happen quickly, Luhning agreed with Eby’s concerns and also acknowledged that she’s heard comments from residents about who sits on the board.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Dec. 2.
