The shape of city politics could look quite different depending on public input, beginning with prioritizing guiding principles to be used in creating options.
In this first round of ward boundary review consultations, city officials and consultants want to know what’s most important to residents when deciding how to section the city into wards – population, projected growth, communities of interest, or natural boundaries and geographic features such as rivers, railway lines and forests.
“We know that any ward boundary proposals are going to include those principles, but the extent that they prioritize one over the other is sort of up for grabs,” explained Dylan McMahon, the city’s manager of legislative services. “We’re asking the community ‘what’s the most important to you from this list?’ That will then inform the second round, which is where you’ll see a large number of possibilities … brought forward.”
Though there’s nothing in provincial legislation that dictates what the principles should be, these four options have been identified through precedence set via court challenges and the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (formerly Ontario Municipal Board), he said of how the list of priorities was determined.
An online survey launched Monday seeking public opinion in prioritizing the guiding principles, and a virtual town hall meeting is set for Jan. 13, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. to garner input. The survey runs through Jan. 22.
It’s the second round where “the rubber hits the road,” said McMahon, noting that’s when residents will be able to see maps illustrating several options determined in part through public feedback in round one.
“Depending what principles have been prioritized, you could see anywhere from eight to 12 different options presented, I would think,” he said, giving examples of options with eight councillors which gets close to equal populations based on projected growth in 10 years, and another that prioritizes communities of interest more than ensuring equal populations in each ward.
“Folks will have the ability to comment on that full range.”
Among those various options will be ones including a single ward councillor and others that feature two in each, as well as full-time versus part-time.
That’s expected to happen sometime in March.
As it stands now, the city has six wards with two part-time councillors in each, as well as a mayor.
The final round of public engagement is anticipated in April, when residents are presented with fewer and potentially tweaked options for ward boundaries, including the number of councillors in each.
“Someone who wants to be engaged is going to be able to have an impact on principles that underpin these options, they’re going to have a look at a big number of options and be able to give really granular level detail, and then they’re going to get input on the final proposals that are going to go to council,” said McMahon.
Recommendations to council are expected in June, at which time a decision will need to be made in order to have new ward boundaries and council’s composition in place in time for the 2022 municipal election. No changes would be implemented prior to the election.
City council set the ward boundary review in motion last November, following a recommendation from consultants and staff. During the same meeting, council declined to make a decision on consultant recommendations to move to eight wards, with one full-time councillor in each, instead directing those issues to be included in the ward boundary review.
