Resort Municipality - Municipal Government Act

The Municipal Government Act sets out specific requirements for the Resort Municipality including annual meetings, budgeting, council composition and voter eligibility.

Budgeting

Financial plans that include an operating budget, capital budget, and 5-year capital plan will need to be approved by March 31 (prior to the start of each fiscal year) and submitted to the Province by April 15 of that fiscal year.

After a holding a public meeting to receive comments from the public, budgets will be approved by council without a requirement for public voting. Tax rates will be set by resolution after the approval of the financial plan and will be submitted to the Province by March 31.

Eligible Voters

Eligibility to vote will be extended to:

• Individuals over the age of 18 who are Canadian citizens, have lived in PEI for the six-month period before the day of the election, and who are ordinarily resident in the Resort on the day of the election; and
• Non-resident property electors (those who are not ordinarily resident but who are the registered owner of land in the municipality on or before the day of the election); or
• In the case of non-resident property electors who are a corporation or a co-operative association, the individual who has been designated as the voter on behalf of the corporation or co-operative association.

Eligibility for Candidates

The Resort Municipality will continue to be able to have regular residents and non-resident property electors as councillors. However, where a non-resident property elector is a corporation or an incorporated co-operative association, only an individual has an ownership or membership interest of at least 25 per cent in the corporation or incorporated co-operative association and meets all other nomination criteria for candidacy in the Resort Municipality is permitted to be nominated as a candidate.

Council Composition

At least half of the council members of the Resort Municipality will be required to be ordinarily resident in the municipality. Elections in the Resort Municipality will take place in August and the new council will take office in September.

Changes over Time

The Resort Municipality will be continued under the new Act, but no new resort municipalities will be permitted. If the number of qualified electors were ever to exceed 2,000 people, the Minister may recommend to the Lieutenant Governor in Council that the Resort Municipality be converted to a regular municipality.