Governance

The Regional District of Central Kootenay covers an area of some 23,108 square kilometers and has a population of approximately 58,000 people. The Regional District system of local government provides a forum for direct representation of those areas that previously had no political voice, it provides for greater local control over services and issues of local importance and it provides a mechanism for advancing the issues of the region as a whole.

The Regional District of Central Kootenay, like all local governments, is granted its powers by the provincial government and is governed primarily by two provincial pieces of legislation – the Local Government Act and the Community Charter – as well as numerous other supplementary enactments.

The Regional Board of Directors is comprised of two types of representatives – Electoral Area Directors and Municipal Directors. Electoral Area Directors are elected to a three-year term to serve specific electoral areas. Municipal Directors are first elected to a municipal council for a three-year term and are then appointed by their council to the Regional Board.

The RDCK Board of Directors include eleven (11) Electoral Area Directors representing rural residents and nine (9) Municipal Directors representing the residents of the municipalities included within the Regional District.