The Decision Makers: Councillor Darryl Gerrard (Part 1)

While five members of the current Neepawa Town Council were new to the job as of the last election, Darryl Gerrard is one of the two who had served previously. He joined the council in a by-election partway through the previous term, and so with just 3 years on council under his belt he went quickly from novice to veteran.

He and his family have been in Neepawa for about twenty years and run a hardware business in town. Gerrard has found his background in sales and marketing has served him well on council, but his motivation to run for council in the first place was born from a previous run at a provincial seat. That experience showed him that he needed, and wanted, to work more at the grassroots level, and municipal politics are very much at the front lines when it comes to politics.

“My attitude,” says Gerrard, “is that I want to be active, I want to participate, and I want to be a part of helping mold that community that I live in.”

Through his experience with the town council, and particularly through his experience chairing the finance committee, Gerrard is able to take us through the relationship that municipal councils have with provincial government, and how needing provincial approval for items such utility rate increases are what can lead to periodic, large changes instead of incremental steps.

Gerrard also talks about how much he enjoys his role on the finance committee in part because it operates in the background of everything that happens on a municipal level so he gets to keep a finger on the pulse of a lot of operations. One thing that a lot of community members ask is why the council can’t reallocate money from one department to another to tackle desired projects. Gerrard explains how the monies kept in reserve funds can’t be flowed elsewhere in the budget and how that’s not a bug, that’s a feature - a failsafe to ensure that all different areas are supported and represented regardless of who is in charge at any given time..

Ultimately, he says, the province approves the town’s budget, and the town is accountable to ensure those funds are spent in the areas the community says they will.