Amalgamate? Not? Diverse ideas offered ahead of advisers' meeting

Amalgamate. Don't amalgamate. Consider amalgamating some things. Make the region a service board.

That's what regional council heard last Wednesday night when it held a special council meeting to allow people to discuss what they'd like to see happen in Waterloo region.

The province is currently conducting a municipal government review of 82 upper and lower municipalities.

The review is being headed by two special advisers: former deputy minister and municipal chief administrator Michael Fenn and former Region of Waterloo chair Ken Seiling.

They will be at the Region of Waterloo administrative offices on Wednesday for a full day of feedback sessions.

• FULL COVERAGE: Ontario municipal review

But the region held its own special meeting to allow people to express their thoughts on what's best. Here are some of the viewpoints that were shared with council.

Amalgamate to one-tier system

Kitchener's Owen Lackenbauerargued that change is long overdue.

He said there's one police service for the region, but seven fire services. There are also three hydro utilities, four library systems and no co-ordinated effort for arts and culture. On top of that, he noted, each municipality has their own zoning bylaws.

"This is confusing, adds costs and discourages investors and builders," he said.

Other reports in 1995 and 2000 have recommended a one-tier system because the two-tier system is confusing, costly, time-wasting and rife with overlap and duplication.

Tim Jackson has worked with municipal organizations and agencies including Centre in the Square, Waterloo Public Library and Communitech. He says in some areas there are workarounds that are "fine."

"We should not be happy with, 'It works fine,'" he said.

He noted when groups seek out funding or support for projects, the region has one meeting with the organization. But the organization has to do many different meetings.

That can result in mixed messages, with one municipality fully supporting the idea and another saying they don't have any funding for it.

He said the result is "half-funded projects, as opposed to game-changing organizations and game-changing initiatives."

"It's time for us to take a risk and let's not be happy with the status quo," he said, encouraging people to have an open mind about municipal reform.

Don't amalgamate

Kate Daley of Waterloo supports the two-tier system currently in place. She says as a researcher who did her Ph. D in regional government and growth policy management, Waterloo region is an example of a system that works well.

"We needed a way to make decisions for urban and rural areas together while meeting governance needs of different kinds of communities on a responsive scale," she said.

Kevin Thomason of Waterloo said he was against the idea of amalgamation because: "Quite simply, amalgamations don't work."

He said amalgamation can raise costsand result in less representation and less responsive governments.

He added there are seven unique communities in the region and each municipality's official plan reflects that local needs.

Joe Mancini of The Working Centre said the model of government in the region "should be celebrated."

Centralization of power, which would group the cities and townships together, "by its nature dismantles identity, history and culture."

Make the region a service board

Cambridge Coun. Nicholas Ermeta suggested making the region into a service board that would efficiently deliver services to the seven municipalities.

It's an idea Ermeta raised during the municipal election, as well.

The service board would have "limited power," he said.

"The board would own a lot of the regional services such as policing and transit, so that would all remain in ownership by the regional organization. But the decisions would be mainly carried out by the local councils," he said.

Amalgamate arts and culture

David Marskell of TheMuseum in Kitchener says there is no master plan for arts in the region and there needs to be.

"With no master plan for arts and culture, the result is funding is not equal nor by merit," he said. "It's a dog's breakfast."

He said with seven lower-tier municipalities and the region, there are eight arts agendas in the area, which results in duplication of efforts.

'Rumblings' of a K-W merger

Amalgamations don't always mean a coming together of all cities or townships in a region. Sometimes, cities or townships can be left out, as University of Waterloo political science professor Robert Williams points out.

"We're hearing rumblings that Kitchener and Waterloo will become one place after all these years. That might be the only change," he said.

Kitchener has supported the idea in the 2010 referendum. Waterloo did not.

"You might go on and simply say take, Cambridge and North Dumfries as a southern municipality," he said. "And then, if you will, a rural municipality involving the townships."

Williams said he thinks there will be some kind of change after Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs Steve Clark receives the Seiling-Fenn report on the municipal review this summer.

Premier Doug Ford has said fewer politicians is better. He cut the size of Toronto council before municipal elections last fall.

Clark has stressed there's no predetermined decision on amalgamation, and he is waiting to review the Seiling-Fenn report to see what they recommend.

Listen to the whole interview with Robert Williams:

The Region of Waterloo has posted the special council meeting to its YouTube channel. You can watch it here: