Improvement districts are autonomous local government bodies responsible for providing one or more local services for the benefit of residents in a community. Improvement districts are brought into existence by the Province through a Cabinet Order which authorizes the passage of a document known as Letters Patent. Some of the provisions contained in the Letters Patent are the name of the improvement district, its boundary and the services which it intends to provide to the residents within that boundary.
The Kemp Lake Water District is a small improvement district that provides water services to residents of the Kemp Lake Water District. The district was created on May 26th, 1953 by Letters Patent under the Water Act of British Columbia. The District has no access to regional funds or grants. All improvement districts are self supporting financially through taxes and or service charges.
The powers that are exercised by the Trustees flow from the District’s Letters Patent, the applicable sections of the Local Government Act and other applicable statutes. These powers include the ability to enact and enforce its regulations and charges, to assess property and collect taxes, to acquire, hold and dispose of lands, to borrow money and to expropriate lands required to carry out its objects. These powers are enacted by the Trustees through the passage of written documents known as Bylaws. All Bylaws passed by the Trustees must be approved by the Inspector of Municipalities and the bylaws are not effective until the approval is obtained and the bylaw is registered. Each year, the audited financial statement and minutes of the Annual General Meeting are reviewed by and filed with the Ministry of Community Development.
The Ministry of Community Development provides support and statutory approvals to improvement districts in the administrative, financial and engineering spheres. More information about Local Improvement Districts and the Ministry is available from the Ministry web site at https://www.cscd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/.
The Kemp Lake Water District Board is made up of three elected volunteer Trustees, one of whom acts as the Chair. Trustees must be land owners within the district. Each Trustee is elected for a three-year term by the eligible landowners of the improvement district. Each year, one trustee is elected and this election takes place as part of the Annual General Meeting held in the spring.
The board usually meets once a month, usually the third Wednesday. The board is assisted by the Administrator who works part time for the District. As the District has no office space of its own, the board usually meets in the home of the Administrator. Once in a while a member of the public wishes to bring a matter before the board, and this is always possible, but due to limited space and varying schedules, please contact the Administrator to confirm date, time and location.
|Trustee - Chair||Kevan Brehart||Since May 1991|
|Trustee||Richie Birch||Since May 1996|
|Trustee||Joanne Hemphill||Since May 1997|
|Chief Administrative Officer||Debbie Anderson||Since Nov 1998|