WELLINGTON – Additional Guelph perspectives are coming to the County of Wellington's Social Services Committee this spring.
According to Wellington County CAO Scott Wilson, he and Guelph CAO Scott Stewart will jointly prepare a report in the coming months recommending the County's Social Services Committee be "rejigged" with four county councillors and four city councillors.
This follows a resolution from the city last October directing both CAOs to work with Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie and Wellington County Warden Andy Lennox to conduct a review of the Social Services Committee governance model and "establish clarity and accountability" regarding the city and the county's role in the approval of priorities and spending related to social services.
This report will come back to council no later than the end of March.
"We're reverting to the way things were 15 years ago," said Wilson, during a special county council meeting earlier this week. "It worked then and I suspect it will work in the future."
Reconfiguring the committee is "the only way" city and county councillors can be informed on issues covered by each other's policy area said Wilson, adding that both the city and county will benefit from the added perspectives.
Made up of three divisions, namely Ontario Works, Child Care Services and Social Housing Services, the Wellington County Social Services Department is responsible for delivering mandated social services programs throughout Wellington and Guelph.
"Just as the county councillors have an interest in ambulance services...the city has an interest in housing, welfare, childcare," said Wilson. "(Adding city councillors will mean) they can discuss these issues with their county colleagues in a more formal setting rather than just a social setting which is about all they have available to them now."
The existing Social Services Committee has six members: Warden Andy Lennox, Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie, and County Councillors Dave Anderson, Matthew Bulmer, Campbell Cork and Gregg Davidson. CAO Scott Wilson and social services administrator Luisa Artuso also attend meetings.
Any changes to the committee's make-up would take place later this spring.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program
