Springfield reeve seeking new title

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/01/2019 (1916 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If she gets her way, the RM of Springfield’s new reeve may well be its last.

Introducing a new organizational bylaw at a council meeting last Tuesday, Tiffany Fell said the municipality’s head of council should be called mayor, not reeve.

“Businesses coming in don’t know what a reeve is. They know what a mayor is, and they ask the reeve to speak to the mayor.”

Fell said the switch to mayor is also “consistent with our neighbouring municipalities.”

No new duties would accompany the title change, which would also see the deputy reeve renamed.

A draft of the bylaw containing the new terminology later passed first reading by a 5-1 margin.

Prior to the vote, Councillor Rick Wilson voiced his support for the status quo.

“I think it’s more of a unifying factor than the alternative, and I think both from that point of view and from the long usage in the RM, that reeve is an appropriate title for the head of council.”

According to Merriam-Webster, the title of reeve dates back to medieval England. Municipal officials in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta still use the term.

Denys Volkov, communications director for the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, said its 137 members are free to change their head of council title as they see fit.

Only two of Springfield’s seven direct neighbours have reeves. Springfield is also one of six municipalities bordering Winnipeg. Three have a reeve; three have a mayor.

Ritchot adopted the title of mayor in 2000. Tache followed in 2007. They remain the only two rural municipalities in the Southeast to use the term, which is commonly employed in incorporated villages, towns, and cities.