The Village of Burns Lake announced last week that councillor John Illes has resigned effective Sept. 15, 2017.
According to the village, Illes has recently accepted an employment position at the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako (RDBN) which required his resignation.
Although the village still hasn’t announced if Burns Lake will hold a byelection, under the Local Government Act a byelection must be held as soon as possible after a resignation occurs.
According to the provincial government, the only exception would be if the resignation occurred after Jan. 1 in the year of a general local election. The next general local election will be held in 2018.
Illes was sworn in as a councillor representing the village approximately 10 years ago. Since this time, he has sat on numerous boards and committees. He has also been representing the village at the RDBN board.
Although councillors can be appointed to the RDBN board, municipalities have often appointed their mayors. Illes was appointed to the RDBN board before Burns Lake Mayor Chris Beach was elected in a byelection in 2016.
After being elected, Mayor Beach asked council to consider appointing him to the RDBN board instead of councillor Illes. Beach argued that, as the mayor, it should be his decision whether to sit on the RDBN board. However, council unanimously denied his request.
Last week Beach said that the decision over who will now sit at the RDBN board will be made during an open council meeting. It is also still unclear who will be the new chief election officer in the absence of chief administrative officer Sheryl Worthing, who usually holds this position.
In his letter of resignation, councillor Illes said it has been “an honour” to be a village councillor.
“It has been a wonderful privilege,” he said. “When I started council, my children were four and six - now they are 15 and 16; in this time scale it seems that I have been in local government for a generation.”
“It is now time to concentrate on my family and my career,” he added.
In a press release, the village said that over the years councillor Illes has worked “tirelessly and selflessly for the betterment of the community.”
Mayor Beach added that councillor Illes is a “respected figure in the community, who has served Burns Lake and has many accomplishments of which he should be proud.”