Bowden town council will run a person short until the next election as a cost-saving measure.
Coun. Steve Blamire recently had to step down because he moved to an acreage outside the town.
Under the Municipal Government Act, councillors most live in the community they represent.
Council had the option of calling a byelection to fill the empty spot on the seven-member body, but opted to save the money instead.
Town chief administrative officer Andy Weiss said with a municipal election only about 15 months off, the mayor and council decided they could split Blamire’s duties among themselves until then to save money.
“Every dollar that a small community can save is looked at very seriously,” said Weiss.
“Everyone of us in the smaller communities, we’re fighting for every nickel we’ve got.
“Any chance we see where we can cut back on potential unnecessary expenses we tend to embrace those types of things.”
Weiss didn’t have an exact cost for a byelection, but said they tend to run in the thousands.
It is not expected that having an even number of council members will create problems through tie votes.
The mayor and councillors have worked very well together and aren’t usually split on issues, he said.
Blamire was one of four new council members elected in the 2010 election.