Altona town council is hoping more people will put their name up for election in this year's municipal vote.

There was no election for mayor and council in the 2014 civic election due to a lack of candidates.

To avoid a repeat of that situation for this year's election in fall, the town has decided to take a proactive approach by hosting pre-election information sessions for potential candidates in an effort to drum up more interest in civic politics.

"The presentation would review the roles of the mayor, council and administration," said town CAO Dan Gagne. "The sessions would also look at what the time commitments are...to give people a taste of the commitment level needed."

In the 2014 civic vote, there were no candidates to challenge incumbent Mayor Melvin Klassen and councillors Tim Fast, Ann Kroeker, Glen Robinson and Terry Wiebe who returned to office by acclamation.

Al Friesen, who was the only new candidate on the ballot, also won by acclamation while the sixth and final seat on council was left vacant and had to be filled by council several weeks later.

"Part of the reason we didn't see many candidates in the last election is due to Atlona being blessed with a lot of people who are already engaged in other organizations that are helping the community in other ways and those commitments eat up a lot of their time as well. So, for many people the first question that comes up is 'how much time will this require from me,'" said Gagne.

The town is planning to host two pre-election information sessions to address those kinds of questions. The presentations will also deal with election financing, annual indemnities and how decisions are made through a combination of resolutions, by-laws and policy.

The first meeting will take place on Wednesday June 20 and a second session is scheduled for September 5.

This year's municipal general election is scheduled for Wednesday, October 24th.