District of 100 Mile House chief administrative officer Roy Scott says it is business as usual in council chambers despite a six-month leave recently granted to Councillor Ralph Fossum.
While Fossum takes the time he needs to recover from an illness, he is still a member of council during his absence, Scott notes.
"We certainly miss having Ralph in the room, but we understand what is going on."
The CAO explains council continues to have the required quorum for dealing with issues as they arise in the interim, with four remaining positions available to vote.
Noting the same situation happened when Coun. Bill Hadden was granted a six-month leave in the last term of office, Scott says the only impacts when someone is absent are a slightly more potential for postponements and for tie votes.
"The only impact on the whole process is obtaining quorum when people are busy travelling or whatever ... it all works out. If we have to, we just reschedule the actual meeting date to ensure we can conduct business. "
According to the Community Charter, tie votes result in a defeated motion, although an applicant may re-apply at a later date.