Trustee now running Murray River after P.E.I. government dissolves council

Only eight months after the last municipal election on Prince Edward Island, the community of Murray River is without a municipal council. 

Four of the eastern P.E.I. rural municipality's six councillors have resigned since the election in November 2022, so the province has dissolved the council and appointed a trustee to run things.   

"It's a little disappointing and frustrating," said Paige Hart, the now-former mayor of Murray River. 

"We were getting things going with making our committees, economic development, our parks and rec committee." 

P.E.I.'s Municipal Government Act says a municipality needs at least four councillors in order to function.

After last fall's election, Murray River had six councillors, but four have since resigned — two of them recently. 

The provincial government has appointed Robert Hughes, the former chief administrative officer of Stratford, P.E.I., to run the municipality until by-elections can be held. 

"The trustee essentially acts in place of the council," said Christine MacKinnon, director of municipal affairs with the provincial Department of Housing, Land and Communities. 

"His role is to keep business going, to work with community members, to hold by-elections and replace the council."

Councillors left for personal reasons

Hart said there was no single reason why the four councillors resigned, adding that they all left for personal reasons — and that being on council in the small community may have been more work than they expected. 

"It's just kind of almost an awakening for those that did step forward — the amount of time, energy and commitment that it does take for us to be part of council," said Hart. 

In small places, the pool of people available to volunteer on council is limited, said MacKinnon. 

For example, in the 2021 census, there were 337 people living in Murray River. 

"It's a big job, and many people are reluctant to take the lead in a small community," she said.

There was another factor at play in this case, added MacKinnon. 

"We have a relatively inexperienced CAO [chief administrative officer], and we felt she could benefit from the experience and guidance of a trustee to get to that next step of holding the elections," she said.   

The province has appointed trustees in similar situations in the past, most recently in Crapaud in 2021. 

The P.E.I. Federation of Municipalities told CBC News this trustee appointment in Murray River speaks to the need for more government funding for small municipalities, to attract CAOs who can better support councils.

More training needed, says former mayor 

For her part, Hart said she would like to see more training provided to new council members. 

She also said that although day-to-day functions will still happen in the community, other things will be put on pause until a new council is in place. 

"Unfortunately, community programming, parks and rec, passing new things like maintenance or planting or plans like that are basically at a standstill," she said. 

"The sooner the election gets called, the better, and then we can get back to these plans and back to work." 

MacKinnon said it's challenging to plan by-elections during the summer, but the government hopes to have a new council in place in Murray River by December at the latest.