When the mayor is invited to speak at upcoming functions, there’s no guarantee Merlin Seymour is going to be the person who shows up. During Monday’s (Nov. 18) regular meeting of Meadow Lake city council, the schedule for deputy-mayor appointments for 2024-2025 was approved. The schedule was established based on the number of votes each member of council received in the Nov. 13 election, and was determined as follows: November and December 2024, Marty Bishop; January and February 2025, Connie Marsh-Yuhasz; March and April 2025, Mauri Young; May and June 2025, Ron Dishko; July and August 2025, Conrad Read; and September and October 2025, Mike Ferguson. The schedule will then be reconsidered during an October 2025 meeting. The motion to approve the schedule was made by Read and seconded by Bishop.
“Years ago, then councillor Elaine Yaychuk served as deputy-mayor for the full term,” Read remarked. “When she became ill, we appointed a new deputy-mayor and council decided to rotate the position. This is how we’ve done things for at least the last two council terms, but there are other options if anyone wants to consider those.”
Bishop, meanwhile, said he has no problems with how the rotating schedule works. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” he said. “This way, everyone gets to experience being deputy-mayor if the need arises.” The deputy-mayor serves in the role of mayor with all the associated responsibilities and powers in the event the mayor is unavailable due to illness, emergency or scheduled time away. The deputy-mayor may sometimes also be called on to chair a portion of the council meeting if the mayor wishes to give up his seat in order to place a motion on the table or to recuse himself from discussion of a specific topic.
In recognition of the additional work, $200 per month is paid in combination with the councillor’s regular salary, including a total of $100 per meeting should the mayor be unable to fulfill his duty due to absence or otherwise, when chairing a council meeting. “Say there’s two functions on the same day at the same time, I can’t be both places at once,” mayor Merlin Seymour further explained. “I would attend one and the deputy-mayor would attend the other. I haven’t been on a vacation in a long time, but say I go on vacation for two weeks, or I get sick, and I can’t run a meeting, the deputy mayor would run the meeting… It’s not a lot, but you need to be comfortable doing it.”
Councillor Mauri Young, meanwhile, expressed her interest in keeping her previous deputy-mayor schedule of September and October because, she said, those months have allowed her to be involved in a number of public functions as deputy-mayor. “In the last four years, September and October have been quite busy,” Young said. “I stepped in one time for the start of the Legion’s poppy campaign, I attended the Navaratri Festival this year, as well as various truth and reconciliation events including one year when I was able to speak on behalf of the city at a Flying Dust First Nation event.”
The schedule was not modified, however, and Young retained her appointed March and April 2025. Seymour also said there were various options presented, including a four-month rotation rather than two. “I’m trying to look out for (newly elected councillors) Mike (Ferguson) and Connie (Marsh-Yuhasz),” Seymour said. “They have a lot to learn, and, Connie, you received the second-highest number of votes, so let’s say I’m away some time in January or February. That makes you the deputy mayor. Is that something you’re comfortable with doing so soon? I’m not looking for a yes or a no, I’m just putting options out there. Because we have two newly elected councillors, my thought would be to have six-month terms to allow Mike and Connie to get their feet wet first. But, if you feel confident about it, I am good with the two-month rotation as well.”
Read also reassured both Marsh-Yuhasz and Ferguson city clerk Kaila Lefort, much like previous city clerks, would be there to provide any assistance they may need when filling the deputy-mayor position. Bishop agreed. “When I came aboard, (former city manager) Diana (Burton) moved me down the line so I could take in four or five months of meetings before I was put into the rotation,” he said. “Maybe that is something we could also look at if Connie and Mike are not wanting to do it right away… During my first rotation, I took the chair twice. Both times the mayor made a motion and I took the chair for those motions. At that time, as well, Diana helped me through that. The curve there is to learn, but everyone is patient. I imagine Kaila and Neil (interim city manager Neil Marsh) would be the same.”
Seymour echoed this. “We’re all working together to try to make everything run as smoothly as it can,” he said. Councillor Ron Dishko agreed, stating, if one of the new councillors was uncomfortable speaking at a public function, one of the other councillors could always step in for them. The motion was subsequently carried.