Hugh Mackenzie
Huntsville Doppler
Well, the shoe dropped at Queen’s Park last week. Premier Ford announced a review of all Regional Governments in Ontario. They call it District Government here, but it is the same thing, so that includes us. The announcement is one that should be of no surprise to the people of Muskoka. The Premier said he was going to do it and now he has quick-started the process.
Muskoka District Council has been kicking around municipal reform for years but has done next to nothing about it. Now, someone from outside is going to do it for them. A shame really, when we could have had a made-in-Muskoka solution.
The good news, if there is any, is that the two individuals appointed as Special Advisors to the Premier and Minister of Municipal Affairs, to advise them on Regional Government reform, are both people with extensive municipal governance experience, albeit, in much larger urban areas than we have in Muskoka. Michael Fenn is a retired Deputy Minister and former CEO of Metrolinx and Ken Seiling was Chair of the Region of Waterloo, for more than three decades.
The problem for these two gentlemen, is that when it comes to Regional Government, Muskoka is really an anomaly when compared to the other seven in the province. Muskoka’s entire population would fit into a single local tier municipality in most of the other regions. Our geography is vastly different, and we are the only regional government that is totally “small town” in nature. And so, what works for the “mega” regional municipalities in reaching the goals of efficiency and delivery of service, will be an entirely different ball game to what will work in Muskoka.
Of course, as this review proceeds, there will be a renewed hue and cry for a single tier, “One Muskoka” form of governance. It has actually already started, with a viewpoint from the District of Muskoka CAO, Michael Duben, that the proposed review by the Province is a good idea. From a person, under whose leadership District government has expanded extensively over the past several years, that can only mean one thing.
It is well known that I believe a single upper tier municipal government in Muskoka is a mistake. District’s budget and its payroll are already way out of control. If inefficiencies, duplication and power brokering are to be found anywhere in our municipal structures, they are to be found there. There is much more accountability at the local, lower tier level where budgets, expenditures and acquisitions are less viral and more transparent, than they are at the District level. For these reasons, I believe it is vital that the District of Muskoka does not control the consultation process, as the review of the municipal structures in Muskoka proceeds.
There is a proposal being floated around by the District, that they form a Committee of the Area Mayors (and probably the District Chair) to act as a consultative body during the review being undertaken by the Province. This is a very bad idea. It is little more than a ruse for District control of the review process.
Mayors in Muskoka have two elected responsibilities. The first is as Head of Council in their municipality and the second is as a Muskoka District Councillor. In some ways, it is a conflict but under our present system, a necessary one. In any event, there are times when the interests and priorities of the District and the interests and priorities of lower tier municipalities are different, and a review of municipal structures in Muskoka is one of those times.
In my view the Mayors of Muskoka should meet as a group, completely independently of District Government and District officials, in order to take a good look at what needs to come out of this Provincial Review from their lower tier perspective and to make their views, and that of their Councils, directly known to the people conducting it.
They, as mayors, can discuss and recommend what they need from an upper tier government and what they do not need. Indeed, they can determine if current operations that overlap individual municipalities and cannot be delivered locally, can instead be provided through a “Service Board” managed by the lower tier municipalities, thus doing away with the entire upper tier of District government. Should District government still exist, they could recommend that the various District departments, in their entirety (and not just as subsidiaries) be placed in Muskoka’s different towns and townships so that all municipalities benefit from their economic impact.
There are dozens of ideas that local municipalities can bring to the table that may not be in the best interests of the District power structure but will provide a real reduction in governance and red tape, better access to municipal services, increased efficiencies and more direct accountability. In my view, that is why it is imperative that the Mayors of Muskoka develop their own process, totally without influence or participation from the District. They should respond as mayors, not as District councillors, on behalf of their constituents, directly to the Provincial Review Advisors.
It is no less than their duty and the future existence of our towns and townships in Muskoka may well depend on it.
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How about amalgonating the three Townships with the three towns? Looking back 50 years and you might be able to see that the three towns were all heavily in debt and the Townships were relativaly debt free. Now we are all heavy in debt. So much for District government.
The townships, Muskoka and indeed 90% of Canada suffer from the same malady; underpopulation that results in lower economies of scale compared to more densely populated areas. All other things being equal (which of course they never are) it is folly to think that a country with 4 people per square kilometer can have the same economies of scale as a country with 40 or 400 people per square kilometer. That fact affects everything. On a per capita basis, it takes more time, energy and money to move everything in a low density area, whether it is delivering food and supplies, getting to a hospital, or building / fixing roads. That is why transportation is the biggest source of carbon emissions in Canada. Of course we enjoy other features of our low density, such as privacy and space and freedom, but it comes at a price. That underlying fact must be considered in any study of municipal structure.
Great commentary Hugh. Hopefully if/when the Mayors get together to discuss both their own municipal councils and the District structure they will push the envelope with new possible approaches. Hugh is hugely correct, the regional government structure in Ontario was born out of the massive growth of cities outside of the gta and a need for them to optimize provision of selected services. These growth centers often have millions of residents with higher growth rates and different types of challenges vs. Muskoka.
It might be worth considering the elimination of the District government entirely and move towards a structure that is more flexible, fluid and representative of the uniquenesses of the municipalities within Muskoka. There is no reason that the municipalities could not operate a ‘shared services’ organization with very specific accountabilities and a simplified governance structure. One of the problems associated with the current District structure is their demonstrated need to expand their influence from their original responsibility and every time this happens, more cost is piled onto the Muskoka ratepayers. Enough is enough – rationalize all levels of government spending on quantifiable value to taxpayers. Bureaucracies must be trimmed, new governance created and building a new structure tailored to our community of 60,000.
Hugh, firstly you commend the Premier’s choices to assist him with this particularly sensitive and onerous task; and then you suggest that the six mayors have valuable contributions to make as well. Familiar as they are with our uniqueness, this is very true. It is, however, highly likely that any such submission will be totally ignored.
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If the triumvirate (working under the guidance of the Premier) wishes their input, they will ask for it in due course. Otherwise, I respectfully disagree that it is within their mandate.
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Personally, I am far more concerned about the administrative areas of our health care system being reduced from 14 to 5. LHIN is just a name; but the centralization of the system by some 64% could be problematic. Whereas the review of mid-level government should bring many services closer to home; the dissolution of the LHIN’s (and their replacement) will result in many services being administered from afar.
Complicated topic Hugh!
There is not one amalgamation in Canada that has resulted in cost savings. In most cases cost have gone up especially in the short term. Consolidation requires generous compensation packages, pensions and health-care benefits to employees pushed out leaving the new “town” with expensive legacy costs. The services like water and sewer, roads, ambulance and so forth still have to be provided and so do the buildings and infrastructure from which they operate.
It is a counter intuitive proposition. You would think there would be lots of savings and efficiencies everywhere you look. Sharing computer software, reducing the number of counselors or management salaries wouldn’t even move the needle on your tax bill.
Our geographical area complicates things and does make it an expensive region to manage. The Towns are the most efficient tax base and subsidize the less populated areas of our region. Even Toronto subsidizes our less populated areas because our total tax base does not cover our total expenses.
Government has surpassed 40% of Canada’s GDP. That is a crazy ratio. 4 out of 10 people on the street work for the government. So the other 6 pay their wages and everything else you see around you!
I think there are definitely efficiencies to be found but not the huge gains you might think. Spending freezes and reeling in our subsidies from the province would be a good start.
There should be an absolute limit on municipal government total cost per capita across the province municipalities.
An area of small population across which to amortize municipal costs (think police) like Muskoka needs assistance. Perhaps a version of equalization?
Just throwing it out there for thought.
Just a question – has anyone considered the amount of Human Resources and funds needed to maintain and repair the roads in our community, maintain sewer treatment plants, water treatment and delivery, expanded water / sewer lines to residential areas not currently connected, – the list goes on. On top of the maintenance and implementation of these services, there is the staff needed to account for the expenditures to the public, required government reporting, appropriate invoicing to the public, payroll personnel needed to pay the staff, personnel to uncover and investigate potential funding opportunities… I could go on …
When considering dismantling the District of Muskoka – please make sure you are fully informed of the duties that each township will have to assume
Yes, Muskoka you have had umpteen years to deal with over governed Municipalities and District with duplication of services . Now that it has been mandated you want to be involved in the process. Well, here is some good advice, leave it to the big boys.
To straighten out this mess we need a totally independent review by a third party that has no ties to the area. They must be experienced in dealing with the issues as suggested in the article. They must make solid fact based recommendations. The study results should be made public once completed for review and ‘next steps’ with ‘action’ plans for change! The towns, district, townships management etc etc are too biased and will protect their empires and friends employed. Hence the mess we have today and the EXPENSE!
Hugh,
Some good ideas here. I would hope that the Townships would immediately support an initiative like this. However, how do you get the Towns to the table? For the last 8 years of my experience, they have been immune to the excesses of District Government because 2/3rds of the costs are born by the Townships – the Towns were getting a free ride.. If the Provincial Government pushes amalgamation, as some think might happen, the Towns would be winners as this disproportionate cost allocation will continue. Therefore, what’s in it for them? They have never responded to fair, just and equitable arguments! They have never responded to ethical and moral arguments! This is where I think the Townships need to manoeuvre the Provincial Government to force the Towns to the table for morally responsible discussions or, perhaps, threaten them with a Parry Sound solution – 6 independent single tier communities and no District.