Thunder Bay city councillors have doubts about proposed new council composition model

Thunder Bay City councillors will have their chance to vote on some proposed, and major, changes to the makeup of council on Monday.

But some sitting councillors say they have doubts about the proposal.

The city's Council Composition Review Committee is proposing a reduction in council size, and a redrawing of ward boundaries.

Currently, Thunder Bay City Council is made up of 13 members: that includes seven ward councillors, five at-large councillors, and a mayor.

Under the committee's proposal, the number of councillors would be reduced to 11 — eight ward councillors, two at-large councillors, and a mayor. The new model would also see the number of wards reduced to four, with each ward having two councillors.

McKellar Ward Coun. Brian Hamilton said he doesn't believe council composition should be a priority for the city now.

"That is not on the top of mind," he said. "We need to consolidate and unify, amongst all levels of government, amongst all political parties, a response to what is happening south of the border."

"I don't see any real imperative to adjusting the composition of council right now," Hamilton said. "I don't see it as a high priority currently. I would rather have our staff be focused on protecting this community from some of the threats."

At-large Coun. Shelby Ch'ng said she appreciated the work the committee has done, but she, too, wasn't convinced the proposed changes were necessary.

"I still have yet to understand why people want fewer council members, other than we just want fewer council members," she said. "There hasn't been a really clear argument. I'm hoping that might be fleshed out a little bit more on Monday."

"To have two-fewer members of council, fewer people doing the work for the same amount of money, I don't think it sets itself up to attract the the best of us from the community, to be honest."

Westfort Coun. Kristen Oliver, meanwhile, said she likes what the committee has brought forward.

"I like the idea of going from seven wards down to four, and having that ability to ensure each ward has the same sort of demographics," she said. "I also like the idea of having two counselors per ward, as well."

"I think it builds an opportunity to share workloads and to share files, and to make a place for constituents to have a couple people they can reach out to and share their thoughts and ideas."

But, Oliver said she doesn't believe a majority of councillors will vote in support of the recommendations on Monday.

"I think there are some concerns that have been expressed amongst other members of council," she said. "I don't want to put words in their mouth."

"Overall, I'm not entirely sure this is a format that will get buy-in amongst all 13 of us."

Oliver noted the city is looking at making other changes to how council operates, as well.

Currently, all councillors participate in committee of the whole meetings, where they receive reports, debate topics, and make preliminary decisions. Those decisions are then made final at city council meetings.

However, the proposed changes would replace the committee of the whole system with standing committees, which would see select councillors sit on smaller committees that focus on specific city operations or departments.

"What that means is maybe five to six members of council would meet on different subject matter areas," city clerk Krista Power told CBC News in an interview last month. "One may be quality of life, one may be finance and administration, one may be planning and growth."

Standing committee members would then make recommendations to city council itself.

Oliver said the switch to standing committees would likely address workload concerns.

Red River Ward Coun. Michael Zussino said he'd like to see how the proposed committee of whole change plays out before making a decision on overhauling the makeup of city council itself.

"In terms of standing committees, you're going to have less people on them, hence the debates won't go as long," he said.

Overall, Zussino called the proposed new council makeup an "interesting proposition," especially when it comes to redrawing ward boundaries.

"One of my concerns was the cost of campaigning, because if you look at the physical space of each ward, it's a pretty large space that you'd have to cover with signs," he said. "I think costs would become higher, not lower because of covering that kind of space, so I think that might be prohibitive to seeing other people perhaps throwing their name in."

And, Zussino noted, the new model may not lead to much in the way of cost savings for the city.

"If you eliminate two positions, there's $65,000 salary savings," he said. "But now you're going to have to distribute that workload amongst other people, which will probably result in more administrative costs, which probably nets you the same."

Value in re-examining wards

Current River Coun. Andrew Foulds said he doesn't see any evidence that having 11 councillors is better than having 13.

"If you do decide to reduce the number of counselors, I see an increase in workload, I see fewer lived experiences, fewer voices, being able to speak at council," he said. "I see less representation, I see less diversity, and the other thing I see, which is clear from the comments in the report, is that there is entirely likely an increased demand on administrative supports which could in the end cost more."

"I don't see the value in increasing the non-elected bureaucracy and decreasing the number of elected officials."

But Foulds said he does think the city should re-examine its existing wards.

"The city has changed in how it's been built and how it's grown," he said. "I do think there is some value in some redistribution. I don't think that a population should be the only factor, but it should certainly be a factor."

If the new model is approved by council, the goal is to have it in place by the next municipal election.

The last time the composition of city council was changed was in 1985, when the current system was implemented.