The Political Trenches: Local Government At Work · The Political Trenches

Full Interview: RMAA President Sheila Keisig

April 7, 2025·34 min·1 clip

Sheila says young families are “coming back home to farm,” which she sees as tied to RM sustainability.

1. The Political Trenches: Local Government At Work features an interview with Sheila Keisig about the Rural Municipal Administrators Association of Saskatchewan and the role of rural administrators. 2. Chris names Sheila Keisig as RMAA president, and Sheila explains that the association’s board follows SARM’s six divisions across Saskatchewan. 3. The episode asks what RMAA is for, and Sheila answers that it helps rural administrators do their jobs fully without taking over council disputes. 4. Sheila lists the RMAA structure as six directors, a vice president, a past president, an executive director, and the SARM president as ex officio. 5. She says the key membership requirement is a Rural C certificate, which she treats as the entry-level qualification. 6. The interview then turns to Saskatchewan’s certification pathway for administrators and CAOs through the University of Regina local government administration course. 7. Sheila says candidates complete five classes, put in 1,800 hours under a mentor, and then qualify for a C certificate. 8. She adds that an A certificate comes after two years and an in-office inspection, and a superior A requires nine more classes plus another inspection. 9. Sheila says administrators also need 16 hours of professional development each year through events like the SARM annual convention, the RMA convention in May, division meetings, and workshops. 10. Chris asks whether municipal titles can be used without certification, and Sheila says no, because unqualified people are only acting administrators under a permit. 11. The discussion shifts to rural municipalities, and Sheila says RMs in Saskatchewan are separate municipalities that still cooperate with towns and villages on recreation, fire departments, policing, public safety, and libraries. 12. She points out that Tullymet is the only RM in Saskatchewan with no village, town, or hamlet inside its borders. 13. Sheila says intermunicipal cooperation has become more common because three RMs can share fire associations or regional parks more cheaply than acting alone. 14. When Chris raises the cost of roads, culverts, bridges, dust abatement, and ag programs, Sheila says municipal revenue sharing matters because it has no strings attached. 15. She says rural council members are not doing the work for money and that local councils are best placed to decide how operating money gets spent. 16. Sheila also says strategic planning and asset management matter because councils have to decide what gets fixed now and what can wait another year. 17. On sustainability, Sheila says she has seen younger people return home to farm, and she connects that pattern to a stronger future for rural municipalities. 18. The interview style is direct and practical, with Chris pushing on certification, recruitment, labor mobility, and future planning while Sheila answers from board experience. 19. Listeners interested in Saskatchewan municipal administration, rural governance, and certification systems will likely get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for entertainment-driven banter or a fast narrative arc may skip it.

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