Now Available! 4 October 2010 www.whatsupmuskoka.<strong>com</strong>
Taking a new look at an old system By Sandy Lockhart Saving money and keeping taxes from skyrocketing is a <strong>com</strong>mon theme among those running for council in the up<strong>com</strong>ing municipal election, but District restructuring has not been a topic of discussion. Every few years, the topic of District amalgamation, as a way of cutting costs and increasing efficiencies, <strong>com</strong>es to the table. Most Muskoka politicians are more interested in doing away with District government than adopting the District of Muskoka as the single tier representing Muskoka. Huntsville Mayor Claude Doughty admits to not spending any time thinking about amalgamation during his term as mayor of Huntsville. “The past 10 minutes is the most thought I’ve given it,” he says when asked about it. He hasn’t been involved in District amalgamation discussions in the past but says there are definitely some areas in Muskoka that need to be examined. Planning and public works are two areas he feels could find cost savings in economies of scale if other models were chosen. “I still see some benefits for the two-tier system. Community services is handled well at the District level as is sewer and water,” he says. “That infrastructure is handled well as opposed to each town having its own department.” He thinks it would be more of a challenge for each <strong>com</strong>munity to keep its unique flavour if Muskoka had only one tier of government. “Some of the independence would be lost,” he says. Doughty believes the present system is a good governance model for Huntsville because it would be challenging for the town to finance water and sewer on its own. He adds that the District is now carrying a large debt. Huntsville mayoralty candidate Hugh Mackenzie believes there is a need for reform at the District level, but doesn’t advocate a transition to single-tier government. “First of all, I would be totally opposed to a singletiered government for Muskoka,” he says. “I believe that the area municipalities are the grassroots of the <strong>com</strong>munity and I believe, in fact, that there probably should be single-tier but it could be more efficient at the local level than it is at the District level. Having said that, I think the reality is that will never happen.” He believes local municipalities need to have more control over decisions made at District. “I think the public perception is because some councillors from each municipality are elected directly to District and sit on local councils, that local councils have direct say into what happens at District. That is not correct.” He says that because District councillors are not accountable to their local councils, major expenditures such as sewer and water should be decisions that the local council should have a vote on. He suggests a process whereby the majority of municipal councils have to agree to large multi-million dollar decisions, as they are ultimately taxed back to the local ratepayers. “What I’m looking for is a partnership between District and local municipalities so local municipalities, as councils, have a direct say, especially in large financial decisions,” he says. While some people look to Toronto as a model – it has 45 elected politicians representing 2.5 million people since its amalgamation in 1998 and Muskoka has 51 elected politicians representing its 200,000 full and parttime residents – Mackenzie doesn’t think the two can be <strong>com</strong>pared. “I think you need to make the <strong>com</strong>parisons between urban <strong>com</strong>munities and rural <strong>com</strong>munities because it is a <strong>com</strong>pletely different form of governance,” he says. “Secondly, I have no problem with reducing the number of politicians. What I have a problem with is eliminating the local <strong>com</strong>munities any more than they have been, as a result of the redistribution that was done 25 years ago,” adds Mackenzie, who notes that when District government first came to Muskoka in the 1970s, the number of municipalities was reduced from 24 to six. He says the way to address the problem is to make sure www.whatsupmuskoka.<strong>com</strong> October 2010 5
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