Council size unlikely to change

Most council members polled say they support keeping a city-wide elected board of control.
JONATHAN SHER, AND JOE BELANGER, Free Press Reporters 2005-06-13 02:04:06




Efforts by a community group to shrink city council will likely fall short tonight.

Despite a petition calling for change signed by nearly 1,000 Londoners, a poll of 10 council members in recent days showed their sentiment has changed little since they recommended in a 9-7 vote in May to keep council as it is.

So although the group behind the petition, Imagine London, has pushed to scrap the city's board of control and replace seven two-seat wards with 14 single-seat wards, council seems more likely tonight to cast a vote for the status quo.

Most council members polled say they'll resist efforts to eliminate four controllers who are elected city-wide.

If the board is scrapped, then councillors or the mayor would have to select who among them would serve on an executive committee that would oversee legal, financial and personnel matters.

"I was concerned where the power would flow," Coun. David Winninger said.

To get rid of controllers, council needs a two-thirds majority -- 13 votes out of 19 -- as set out in the Municipal Act.

The threshold seemed insurmountable over the weekend when polling showed it more likely a majority of council will support board of control.

Less certain was the proposal to double the number of wards and have a single councillor for each. But it appears the side pushing for the change may fall just short of the simple majority required.

Of the nine who voted for the status quo, five were interviewed and all said they hadn't changed their position.

Two councillors who missed the meeting said they supported preserving board of control, one also favouring the current ward system.

The city councillor who's led the effort to change council, Fred Tranquilli, questions if his colleagues lack what it takes to institute reform.

"We seemed mired in this inertia to keep the status quo instead of taking a chance on something that might be better," he said.

Voters in the last municipal election voted to shrink council by a three-to-one margin and by a smaller margin to scrap board of control.

But most eligible voters didn't vote at all, an indication they may be pleased with council the way it is, Controller Russ Monteith said.

"Not enough came out to make the referendum binding (50 per cent was needed). The city of London didn't want change," Monteith said.

The bottom line is most Londoners -- at least in Ward 1 -- don't really care about the structure of council, said Ward 1 Coun. Ab Chahbar. "I had two messages. It's not a burning issue . . . I've received more calls about dogs and licences for pets," he said.

In the absence of strong call for change, Chahbar said he would vote for the status quo.

"If I had 100 calls and 60 supported change, I'd vote for change," Chahbar said.

Whatever happens tonight the issue isn't likely to be resolved, said several councillor members who expect Imagine London would appeal an adverse decision to the Ontario Municipal Board.





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