A report from city staff written in conjunction with third party consultants is recommending that Guelph increase the number of wards to eight and that council composition change to eight full-time councillors – one per ward – plus the mayor.
The report says it would be one councillor per ward and none at-large.
There are currently 12 councillors, two for each of the city's six wards, plus the mayor.
The report says the change would cost the city an estimated $303,000 in additional councillor and support staff salary, plus an additional $198,000-$237,000 in one-time costs.
The report comes out in advance of a special council meeting set for Nov. 5 to discuss council composition.
If council approves the staff recommendations, the second phase of the ward boundary review will begin immediately to look at making changes to Guelph’s ward boundaries from six to eight. Public engagement would be held in January.
A city news release says Guelph’s ward boundaries haven’t changed significantly since the 1990s.
Staff propose a deadline for any changes to be made for the 2022 municipal election. It says if any ward boundary changes aren't finalized by Dec. 31, 2021, then the existing council composition and ward boundaries should remain for the 2022 municipal election.
Moving from six wards to eight is a significant change for this community,” says Dylan McMahon, manager of legislative services with the city clerk’s office in a news release. “We recognize that each of Guelph’s current wards have six distinct, vibrant identities, which will be respected and enhanced if we move forward.”
The report says that if city council adopts a composition structure other than the one recommended in the report which can be accommodated in the existing six wards, staff will recommend moving forward with revisions to composition while maintaining the current six wards for the 2022 municipal election.
City staff recommends that a ward boundary review be done even if council decides to keep the six wards.
