An expropriation policy has been passed by the RMWB council, and this was done on order to resolve and close a hole in the policy of the council which has been highly controversial. According to a September 2014 audit report by KPMG the rules about the buying and expropriating land by the municipality were not documented but were instead communicated on the job. The KPMG audit recommended that the acquisitions rules be documented instead. Mayor Melissa Blake commented “The KPMG audit … did identify that we had some gaps (and) council has had their own expectations about being able to be more involved. I think the policy today not only strives to meet the KPMG audit requirements, they helped us in developing that policy.”

The new expropriation policy that was passed during the recent RMWB council meeting puts in place a process for requests and helps to establish rules and guidelines to be followed concerning land acquisition and expropriation. The policy emphasizes that expropriation is only a last resort, and details when council members have to be informed of land acquisition and what happens when the acquisition or expropriation is not approved or is not included in the capital plan. The new policy will provide a set of documented and consistent guidelines and references to be used by the council. During the municipal election a few years ago downtown arena expropriations became a big issue. Coun. Tyran Ault said “I think we had some frustration with land acquisition in the past, and it’s no fault to the current administration, a lot of those decisions were made by people that are no longer here. I think having those controls for council as we move forward would help everyone.”