Ward system weighed by Governance SPC
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on April 30, 2022.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com Discussions about a potential ward system for Lethbridge will continue at the next Governance Standing Policy Committee meeting of city council.That meeting is scheduled for May 29.
A decision on proposals brought forward to the SPC Thursday to either approve or reject spending funds on investigation of a system were postponed until the committee meets again after no consensus was reached on either.
If SPC members had accepted one of the proposals, they would have made a recommendation to city council to accept their suggestion.
But instead after a lengthy debate about the pros and cons of such an investigation, the four members of the SPC agreed to keep talking about the issue.
The SPC consists of acting mayor Belinda Crowson as the committee chair along with vice-chair and councillor Jeff Carlson and councillors Rajko Dodic and John Middleton-Hope.
Discussions followed a presentation by city clerk and elections returning officer Bonnie Hilford about the potential scope of an investigation and ward systems in general.
In the Oct. 18, 2021 municipal election, a question was put on the ballot asking voters “do you support using a ward system to elect city councillors (other than the mayor) starting with the 2025 municipal election?” Previous city council on July 13 decided to have the non-binding question added to the ballot.
Of the 28,348 people who voted in October – which was about 35 per cent of eligible voters – 26,736 responded to the ward system question. Some 55.69 per cent of those voted in favour of a ward system while 44.31 per cent rejected the idea.
Hilford told the SPC if a ward system is enacted, councillors would not have to live in the ward they run for election in, citing as an example that a person could live in Hardieville on the northside and run for election in the westside neighbourhood of Sunridge.
Presently, ward systems are used in Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta. Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert use them in Saskatchewan while Brandon and Winnipeg have them in Manitoba.
B.C. has none.
No rules exist, Hilford said, about the minimum population required to have a ward system. Prince Albert, for instance, has a population of 36,000 and has eight wards. The average ward population there is 4,500 people.
Calgary, which has a population in its metro area of 1,611,000, has 14 wards with an average population in each of 105,365.
If the SPC does eventually agree to move forward with an investigation into a ward system, it will ask council – if the present resolution is passed – to agree to spend $297,000 which city treasurer Darrell Matthews told the meeting is in the SPC’s budget to proceed.
That money will pay for the analysis, engagement, recommendation and implementation phases identified in the 2025 electoral ward system conceptual plan.
A report submitted by Hilford says “implementing a ward system isn’t a very long and complicated process.” The first phase would involve analysis of ward system models which would incorporate various factors including numbers of wards and councillors, models and boundaries. It says extensive engagement of stakeholders including the public, council and both school divisions in the city would be required.
The report says a proposed committee of public members would include people with related backgrounds along with non-voting supporting resources.
Hilford said when Edmonton and Calgary did a review of ward boundaries, there was minimal public participation in both – much less than one per cent of voters became engaged in the process. Follow @albeebHerald on Twitter 4
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