South Peace News presents a series of question-and-answer features from elected local government leaders to explain goals and issues in the coming year. Myrna Lanctot is the mayor of the Village of Donnelly.
FROESE: Looking ahead to 2026, what do you want to see accomplished as a council, why and how?
LANCTOT: As we look toward 2026, our council’s priorities are centred on sustainability and long-term planning.
A key focus is finding a sustainable solution for our interim CAO position, ensuring continuity in leadership and effective administration.
We are also committed to completing the 2025 audit in a timely and transparent manner, which is essential for maintaining public trust and financial accountability.
FROESE: What are the top priorities, projects, issues for 2026?
LANCTOT: Our top priorities for 2026 include completing the audit process, ensuring strong financial accountability and advancing long-term planning for municipal leadership.
We will also continue to focus on infrastructure maintenance, community development initiatives and advocating for fair provincial support.
Another priority is to strengthen partnerships that help us attract and retain professionals and resources to support both municipal operations and community growth.
These projects and issues are all aimed at ensuring stability, sustain- ability and responsiveness to the needs of our residents.
FROESE: What are the key things to move the municipality forward to be sustainable and grow in the future?
LANCTOT: Sustain- ability and growth will depend on strong leadership, sound financial management and community development.
We will also continue to seek grant opportunities, advocate for fair provincial support and make transparent decisions about how resources are used.
At the same time, attracting and retaining professionals and encouraging partnership will be key for building long-term resilience.
By combining teamwork, innovation and resident engagement, we can ensure our municipality remains strong and sustainable for the future.
FROESE: What are some of the most challenging things about your role as mayor?
LANCTOT: One of the challenges of serving as mayor is that many people assume the role comes with direct control over staff and day-to-day operations.
In reality, council’s responsibility is to provide governance and oversight, with the CAO as the only staff member directly accountable to council.
The distinction can sometimes be misunderstood and clear communication is required to ensure residents know how decisions are made.
Another important responsibility is advocacy. The mayor and council must communicate the needs of our municipality to higher levels of government, both provincial and federal. This can be challenging as it requires persistence and collaboration to ensure our community’s voice is heard and supported.
At the same time, balancing community priorities and limited resources and reducing provincial funding remain a constant challenge.
Despite these pressures, our council is committed to teamwork, transparency and finding creative solutions that serve the best interests of the community.
FROESE: What are the biggest challenges facing the municipality and how will council overcome them?
LANCTOT: Our municipality faces significant challenges, many of which are common to small rural communities. Limited revenue sources and a small staff base mean we must carefully balance essential services with community priorities.
In addition, provincial funding reductions and downloading costs – such as RCMP policing expenses – place added financial pressure on our budget.
Another ongoing challenge is ensuring that we can attract and retain professionals and resources to support both municipal operations and community growth.
Council is committed to overcoming these challenges by working as a team, advocating strongly for fair provincial support and pursuing grant opportunities to supplement our revenue.
We will continue to engage openly with residents, prioritize transparency in financial decisions and focus on long-term sustainability.
FROESE: What were some the biggest challenges the municipality faced in 2025?
LANCTOT: The year 2025 brought several challenges for our municipality. Early in the year, we experienced leadership transitions, including the resignation of our CAO and the subsequent departure of the new CAO from the province.
We also had changes in office staff services due to unforeseen circumstances, which required adjustments in how we managed administrative support.
On top of these staffing changes, we faced the early and severe winter. The heavy snowfall in December 2025 created difficulties for residents and municipal operations alike. For the first time in my experience, council had to adjust our snow management practices, including allowing residents more flexibility on sidewalk clearing, as there was simply no place to dump the excess snow.
We also experienced challenges in keeping our municipal office doors open during regular hours. Adjustments had to be made and we greatly appreciate the patience and understanding shown by residents during this time.
It was also election year in 2025, which brought two new councillors onto our team.
Shortly after the provincial election (in 2023), we held a byelection to fill a vacancy. These changes brought fresh perspectives and energy to council but also required time to adjust and build cohesion as a team.
While these circumstances were demanding, they also highlight our community’s resilience and importance of working together.
Council and staff responded with practical solutions and residents showed patience and co-operation.
These experiences will help guide us in planning for future challenges with greater preparedness and teamwork.
FROESE: What was the most unexpected thing the municipality had to deal with in 2025?
LANCTOT: The most unexpected challenge in 2025 was the severity of winter in December. Snow arrived earlier than usual and continued in such volume that it created difficulties unlike anything we had experienced before.
In addition to the weather, we also faced unexpected staffing transitions, including changes in secretarial services due to unforeseen circumstances. These changes required us to adapt quickly and at times adjust our municipal office hours.
We truly appreciate the patience and understanding show by residents during these periods. While these challenges were unforeseen, they highlighted the community’s resilience and the importance of working together.
Council and staff responded with practical solutions and residents demonstrated co-operation and support.
These experiences will help us prepare more effectively for future unexpected events.
FROESE: Any other comments to add?
LANCTOT: I would like to express my gratitude to the residents of the municipality for their patience, co-operation and support during 2025. Despite the challenges we faced, our community demonstrated resilience and understanding.
Council and staff worked hard to adapt and find solutions and we remain committed to transparency, teamwork and long-term sustainability.
Looking ahead, we are optimistic about the opportunities to strengthen our municipality and continue building a community we can be proud of.
Richard Froese
South Peace News