Last chance for changing composition of NF Council

Aug 04, 2021

It might not be on the top of too many lists of thing to look forward to in 2022, but there will be a municipal election in October of next year. And for a municipal council to make changes in the makeup of municipal wards or the composition of the council, those changes must be approved by the end of the previous calendar year.

Time is also running out for North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins as well, because as he comes near to end of his second term as Mayor, one of his goal remains unaccomplished, reducing North Frontenac's three wards to two, and the number of councillors from 7 to 5. When he proposed these changes to council 4 years ago, it was rejected by the council of the day.

This time around the proposal was brought to council a year ago in July, in plenty of time, but because of COVID restrictions a public meeting to allow for input from all North Frontenac residents could not be held and on July 17, 2020, a motion was passed to defer until this summer.

On July 16, 2021, council decided to hold a public and a virtual public meeting in August, pending Stage 3 reopening.

That is a first hurdle cleared for the proposal because Council had the option to defer the entire matter for another four years, but decided to go through with the meeting.

But that does not mean, however, that they will be inclined to make the change.

The current wards are based on the boundaries that were in place between the three townships that came together to form North Frontenac in 1998, Barrie township became ward 1, Clarendon and Miller township became ward 2, and Palmerson-Canonto township became ward 3. Each ward elects 2 members of council, and the Mayor is elected by electors from all three wards.

One of the flaws in the system, according to the argument for change, are that there are too many members of council for the population of the township, one council member for every 275 permanent residents.

Another is that Barrie ward is more populated than the other two wards, It wards 1 and 2 were combined into a single ward, the two wards would be of about the same size.

Under the current ward system, if the councillors from ward 1 and 2 work together, they can pass motions that are opposed by the representatives of half of the population.

The third argument for change is financial. Councillors are paid salaries and expenses.

And it is sometimes difficult to fill council. In 2018, there were no contested elections in North Frontenac, the 6 councillors and the Mayor were all acclaimed, which is not ideal. With only a 5 member council, contested elections for council would be more likely

One of the arguments against making the change is emotional and historic. The wards are the last remnant of the founding townships in North Frontenac, and each of them had a unique history, their own institutions and communities. Other arguments are practical. A small township needs to follow the same provincial regulations and provide the same services as larger councils, and with 7 members the committee responsibilities are still significant for council members, and would increase for the 5 who would serve on a new council.

The cost savings are no more than $30,000 per year, hardly a major expense for a township that will spends $18 million this year, including over $6 million that was levied to local ratepayers.

The 3 ward, 7 member council that has been in place for 21 years has not resulted in any major problems. The ward 2 and 3 politicians have not ganged up and forced measures that have disadvantaged the residents of ward 3.

There is no sense that North Frontenac Council is dis-functional, so the logic of the 'if it aint broke, don't fix it' adage may apply in this case.

Finally it is always difficult for elected officials to vote themselves out of a job, which is what the change would result in.

The public meetings are set for the middle of the month (see page ??? for details) and will be an opportunity to find out if there is a real attitude for change among North Frontenac residents.