Jeff Colvin, former dismissed Mayor of Chestermere, is running in the upcoming municipal election.

Colvin and three councillors were let go by the Alberta government back in 2023.

In May, the province released the findings of an independent report by Deloitte on how the City of Chestermere was being run.

It found that the city's finances had been managed in an 'irregular, improper and improvident manner' between October 2021 and December 2023.

According to the report, Colvin spent over $50,000 over two years on food and alcohol on a city-issued credit card.

When asked what he would do to regain the trust of Chestermere residents again, Colvin said he had taken time to reflect on his experience from the provincial government. 

"They did not have the right to remove us, and the Deloitte report clearly shows that there is not enough to remove a council."

According to Colvin, he has put in his papers to continue what he started as mayor, including establishing a base tax level for residents. 

"It is the minimum amount needed for a city to operate and provide its services. We're trying to ensure that we understand how to avoid overtaxing our residents."

Colvin said Rick McIver, Minister of Municipal Affairs, put it on his agenda to get involved in something he is biased on.

"To take it on this little crusade of his to stop us from bringing forward the alleged corruption that we had."

According to Colvin, the three dismissed councilors and himself were very focused on doing their job. 

"We were to make sure that we performed for the city, push forward the various projects, and try to learn from the past part of what we were doing."

Colvin explained that he wants to learn from past mistakes and implement policies illuminating these issues.

"This is to ensure that our residents aren't taken advantage of again and that our taxpayers' funds aren't diverted away from the City of Chestermere."

As for the policies he would implement if he's re-elected, he says one of the biggest things identified was that the procurement process needed more transparency.

"We suspect that this is the same in every city. But we found that the town was essentially banking developers for developer infrastructure, and to me, that's an entirely wrong way of doing things."

Colvin said the developers need to pay for everything they need and touch.

"They may have the developers pay for it later down the road, but you're not involving them in the process; every time you have a pool of wealth, you need to involve the people going to pay for it."

Colvin says that they have to get involved in the procurement process.

"You've got to bring experts, not just city people, in some closed room. You need to have public access to it as well as professionals. Then you've got a good chance of actually doing it, you know, totally above board, and everybody can look at the process and inspect it themselves."

The City of Chestermere's by-election is set for June 24. 

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