The City of Guelph and County of Wellington are looking to mend their somewhat fractured relationship.
A report going to the city's governance committee Tuesday supports the city engaging in talks with the county about formalizing and improving strategic partnerships to their mutual benefit.
The report also says the city should rejoin the county's social services committee, which it walked away from six years ago.
Last June the county appeared before city council offering an olive branch and inviting the city back to the social services committee table.
In October council asked staff to look into enhancing its relationship with the county for mutual benefit. The report going to the governance committee on Tuesday is the response to that request.
Provincial legislation dictates the county is responsible for social services, including Ontario Works, social housing and child care. But the relationship between the county and city has been at times a strained one over the past 20 years or so.
In the late 1990s, the social services committee was comprised of four county representatives and four members of Guelph council. But the county had the deciding vote in ties, "causing, at times, a perceived unfair advantage to the county, especially in instances when decisions impacted the city's budget," says the city staff report in providing an overview of the history of the relationship.
Voting disparity, accountability and "interpersonal differences" began to "erode the partnership between the city and the county."
That culminated in the city terminating its social services agreement with the county in 2008. After a legal battle during which an arbitrator sided with the county, the city formed its own Social Services and Housing Committee in 2010 and the city stopped participating in the joint county committee.
The city currently pays roughly $23.5 million towards the cost of social programs administered through the county.
City staff is recommending that the "city and county form a renewed relationship and commitment to work together to strategically influence matters of mutual interest - including matters related to social services."
The report recommends at least one city councillor sit on the County of Wellington Social Services Committee.
The report also recommends the relationship between the two governing bodies be improved and formalized beyond the social services committee.
The staff report lists several benefits to formalizing an increased partnership at the governance level, including:
- improved efficiency and integration of services.
- better long-term strategic planning.
- improved intergovernmental leverage opportunities.
- improved transparency.
- improved opportunities to identify alternative sources of funding.
"Maintaining the status quo does not serve to address past issues between the city and the county, nor will it provide the city with a "voice" to influence priority setting or strategic planning," it reads.
The report goes on to say that no formal partnership may lead to missed opportunities.
"Given the significant number of mutual areas of interest between the City of Guelph and the County; including but not limited to economic development initiatives, social services delivery and planning, intergovernmental collaboration and source water protection, the City of Guelph is looking for an opportunity to build an enhanced and strategic relationship/partnership with the County of Wellington," says the report.
It calls for an improved "collaborative alliance" between the two governing bodies.
The report says staff and elected officials are working collaboratively at times, it would be beneficial to all if the relationship and terms of reference was formalized.
