Hamilton city councillors will try to redraw ward boundaries themselves

They spent$270,000 on a consultant to give them suggestions to redraw Hamilton's ward boundaries. Now city councillors are going to get out the "crayons and napkins," as one critic described it, and redraw the map themselves.

I don't know what benefit there is incouncillorsbreaking out the crayons and napkins to create new ward boundary structures.- Matt Jelly

Councillors voted at a special meetingThursday to consult residents and make their own suggestions for how to change Hamilton's wards. This came after Watson and Associates presented a $270,000 report with two options for new ward boundaries.

Councillors will submit their own suggestions toWatson and Associates by the end of November, and the consultant will report back.

That decision frustrates local activist Matt Jelly. Heplans to collect 500 signatures on a petitionto force council to draft a bylaw for new boundaries.

Under the Municipal Act, acouncil that receives a 500-name petition has 90 days to act on it. If citizens are unhappy with the result, they can appeal it to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).

"I don't know what benefit there is in councillors breaking out the crayons and napkins to create new ward boundary structures," Jelly said. "And to my knowledge, none ofthe councillors are qualified to do that work."

If I bring in some ideas from my ward and everybody else does, they'll put that together.- Doug Conley, Ward 9 councillor

"It just confuses issues to have yet more maps generated by the councillors who have an interest in it. Some of them don't want changes to happen, and some of them want to guide how those changes happen."

Coun. Doug Conley of Ward 9 doesn't see a conflict of interest. Councillors know their communities, he said. They need time to make suggestions.

"Ninetyper cent of that report won't change," he said. "It's just if I bring in some ideas from my ward and everybody else does, they'll put that together."

Why it matters

Ward boundaries seem like a dry subject, but they matter.

Population has boomed insome areas of Hamilton, and stabilized in others. Ward 7 on the Mountain, for example, had62,179 people as of 2011. Ward 14 in ruralFlamboroughhad just 17,634.

The boundariesimpactdecisions at the council table too. Right now, seven councillors are from suburban areas a "safety net" for communities like Ancaster, Coun. Lloyd Ferguson said. Eight are from the old city of Hamilton. Reshuffling the wards by population would likely give urban councillors more power.

It's also overdue. In 2001, the transition board of a newly amalgamated Hamilton recommended a review within10 years.But successive councils postponed the issue. Councillors finallyvoted earlier this year to explore it.

Watson and Associates recommended two models Thursday one with 16 wards, and one with 15. The company hasalready heldpublic information sessions around the city.

City staff will also report back on how much it would cost to add an extra councillor. The early estimate is $250,000 per year.