By Staff
October 23rd, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
The Motion didn’t get discussed at the October 18th meeting of the Regional Council – it was deferred to a future meeting.
That the idea is on the table – why it’s on the table.
City Council at work; Councillor Nisan did not take part
Regional Councilors get paid by both the municipality they hold a council seat in and an additional amount for serving as Regional Councilors.
For the seven members of Burlington City Council what they get from the Region amount to very very close to 50%.
Keeping public money in your pocket.
Were the Regional Council to disappear – the six Burlington ward Councilors would find that they couldn’t live on the basically $60,000 they earn as Councilors.
Read the motion with that information in mind.
Support for Regional Government in Halton
Burlington City Councillor Rory Nisan serves as the spear carrier for embers of Regional Council – the objective is to save the Regional part of their pay cheques.
WHEREAS, in November 2022 the Government of Ontario announced a review of Ontario’s regional municipalities (Durham, Halton, Niagara, Peel, Waterloo, York) and the County of Simcoe through government appointed facilitators; and
WHEREAS, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing wrote to the Chair of the legislature’s Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy recently requesting the committee take over the work originally proposed for facilitators; and
WHEREAS, the Province has asked the Standing Committee, among other things, whether changes to municipal governance structure would enhance local services and/or provide better value to taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, the Province has stated one of the key drivers for undertaking a review is to examine whether the current municipal structure supports the construction of new homes; and
WHEREAS, the Region and its local municipalities support the Province’s goal to deliver at least 1.5 million homes by 2031 and are committed to working together to support the Provincial housing pledges; and
WHEREAS, the Region is focused on providing essential water and wastewater infrastructure to support the construction of new homes in support of the housing pledges; and
WHEREAS, a governance review would be disruptive as it would take significant time and attention away from the Region’s goal to deliver infrastructure to support municipal housing pledges; and
WHEREAS, the Province has already implemented significant changes through Bill 23 last year, with respect to the elimination of Regional planning as a means to ensure effective governance and better value for the Halton taxpayer in line with the key drivers of regional review; and
WHEREAS, over the last 50 years since the creation of the Region of Halton, the City of Burlington, Towns of Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills have always worked cooperatively on advancing the needs of all its constituents; and
WHEREAS, Halton and all of its member municipalities, agencies, boards and committees have continuously worked on efficiencies and have saved taxpayers millions of dollars through the Halton Cooperative Purchasing group, including the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS), the Conservation Authorities and School Boards; and clear definition of roles and responsibilities; and
WHEREAS, Halton and our four Local Municipalities are committed to providing high quality services, keeping costs as low as possible for our residents and ensuring financial sustainability of our municipalities; and
WHEREAS, 97 per cent of residents are satisfied with the quality of Regional services provided; and
WHEREAS, Halton is a model of municipal efficiency through service agreements between municipalities and the Region and 98 per cent of Halton residents rate their quality of life very high; and
WHEREAS, Halton Region has been effectively managed and held an AAA credit rating for 35 years; and
WHEREAS, Halton has been recognized as one of Canada’s Safest Communities over the past 15 years; and
WHEREAS, each of the 4 municipalities in Halton has been highly ranked in the MoneySense “Best Place to Live” feature; and
WHEREAS, a change to the structure in Halton by the Provincial Government would be disruptive and wasteful given they would be trying to fix something that is not broken;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
THAT Regional Council endorses Halton’s effective two-tier system of municipal government as it has evolved on mutual agreement with our partner lower municipalities since its foundation in 1973;
THAT the Regional Chair write to the Premier and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing indicating Regional Council’s support for the current Local and Regional structure, emphasizing Halton’s stellar record of governance;
THAT Regional Council requests the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing expedite the Proclamation of Bill 23 in order to able the full transition of planning services from the Region, as a means to ensure effective governance and better value for the Halton taxpayer in line with the key drivers of regional review;
THAT the Halton Region CAO work collaboratively and expeditiously with the CAOs of the lower tier municipalities to look for additional efficiencies and cost savings with our municipal partners, the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS), the Conservation Authorities and School Boards, including potential areas for downloading to lower tier municipalities or uploading to Halton Region;
THAT Regional staff continue to review and identify land owned by the Region that may be appropriate for new assisted housing opportunities;
AND THAT this resolution be forwarded to the Premier, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Halton’s Members of Provincial Parliament, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and Halton’s Local Municipalities.
