I did not attend all four Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) and County of Haliburton town halls over the affordability and governance study.
However, I did watch two complete meetings, in Haliburton and Minden, online, viewed about half of the one in Wilberforce, and caught the beginning of the one in Algonquin Highlands in-person on Monday. I believe I got a snapshot of how the public feels about this body of work to date and what it might mean for them.
One person in Minden said they had only recently found out about the study. I believed him, but didn’t quite understand it. With three newspapers in Haliburton County – including the free-to-the-public Highlander, there’s really no excuse for claiming to be caught off guard.
In addition, social media was flooded with information pointing to the study. Perhaps the consultants and County learned that steering folks to a lengthy study was a bit ambitious on their part. Some members of the public may have opted to view the shorter slide deck on the council agenda of Aug. 12, if they knew where to find it. There were Coles’ notes handouts at the meetings, but people would not have had time to go through those and ask detailed questions.
However, to claim not knowing anything about the report and its findings to date is just plain lazy on the part of ratepayers.
Some raised concerns about timing. They feel the process is being rushed. I don’t totally disagree with them. The schedule is tight, with EORN tasked with bringing a follow-up report to County council in December and a possible decision in January.
However, with no tight schedule for the service delivery review, we see how that worked out. It didn’t. Someone – in this case CAO Gary Dyke – is indeed pushing it forward. He has to. Once a decision is made, it will take about a year-and-a-half to institute changes. Leave it too long and an election cycle commences in 2030 with a status quo that is leading to municipal bankruptcy and tax hikes we cannot afford.
If I had a dollar for every time someone said we can’t possibly amalgamate: look what happened in the ‘City of Kawartha Mistakes’, I’d be able to buy lunch. As consultant Jim Pine kept pointing out, what happened in Lindsay is very different to what is happening here. That was a forced amalgamation 26 years ago. Here, he said, residents have an opportunity to work with councils to shape their own governance model. He points to his own experience with a Quinte West merger he has deemed successful. After presenting four options to the County, he said the fifth model could be doing nothing and having the province step in to force the issue.
Folks were completely right in saying they do not have enough information. That’s the next stage of the process. EORN and the County go back behind closed doors now to look at the four models being suggested and come up with the numbers as to how each would impact us.
That next report will come in December. EORN and the County assured the public they would get to see this follow-up report, and there will be more public engagement.
Some at these town halls came with an open mind. Some did not. Many wanted to simplify the question as amalgamation or not? But, It’s not that simple. Open your minds, and do your homework.
