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Duke-Of-Waterloo Feb 4, 2009 3:09 AM

Waterloo will talk about regional reform, not amalgamation

(By Liz Monteiro, THE RECORD, Tuesday, February 3, 2009)
RECORD STAFF

WATERLOO


The City of Waterloo will create a task force to talk about municipal reform -- but not amalgamation, according to the councillor who proposed it.

Councillors voted unanimously last night to create a committee -- with representatives invited from all municipalities in Waterloo Region -- to find ways to increase efficiency.


"It is not a discussion of amalgamation," said Coun. Jan d'Ailly, who proposed the task force with the goal of getting the most bang for tax dollars.

"How can we better improve our services and save costs for our citizens?"

Jim Erb, chair of Citizens for Better Government, said he was pleased with the decision.

"It's a great step," he said after councillors held a committee meeting.

"At the end of the day, we may not get what we asked for, but more co-operation and creating more efficiencies in areas such as libraries, water and emergency services -- then I'm pleased."

Citizens for Better Government supports merging eight local governments and cutting the number of municipal politicians. The group says $10 million could be saved by amalgamation.

Kitchener has said it wants to continue talking about reform, but Cambridge and North Dumfries are against amalgamation talks.

The Waterloo task force will prepare a list of projects in which cities and municipalities can find more cost-savings in their operations. The first meeting is planned for March.

Coun. Angela Vieth said she was concerned some municipalities may not want to participate. "What if the townships don't want to play?" she said.

Some residents spoke against setting up a task force, suggesting members would talk about amalgamation regardless of their brief.

Victor Hiebert told councillors that one massive city would reduce access to government.

To date, there have been no proven cost-savings, he said.

"Kitchener will dominate," he predicted if the region became one city (Duke: now that's a true Waterlooian speaking! ;)). "Cambridge has bowed out. Waterloo should bow out too."

Robert Fleming said it would be "repugnant" to have city staff and politicians proceed with dissolving the city without input from citizens.


http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/481363

notmyfriends Feb 4, 2009 5:38 AM

So, how do we get on this committee?

Actonite Feb 7, 2009 4:41 PM

What's the general feel here about amalgamation now? Does any one still think it's possible?
I would say no, it's not going to happen. When CFBG first put their report out I thought that maybe we would see much of the region united with Cambridge going it on their own but I think even that has slim to no chance now.
I don't know how I feel about partialy amalgamating the region. I'm kind of an all or nothing kind of person.
How do others feel about the posibility of part of the region amalgamating? If it was only a partial amalgamation would we keep the regional government or would we no longer need it?

koops65 Feb 7, 2009 7:59 PM

I would have liked to see the whole Region amalgamate, but it seems very unlikely after hearing the various players involved at this time. Cambridge isn't interested at all, Waterloo and the townships dont seem interested. It seems a new generation will have to deal with this issue in a future age...

rapid_business Feb 7, 2009 9:15 PM

Realistically it will be a one-step-at-a-time approach. Probably regionalized and co-shared services, giving way to regionalized oversight some day.

Ktown4ever Feb 7, 2009 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Actonite (Post 4073534)
What's the general feel here about amalgamation now? Does any one still think it's possible?
I would say no, it's not going to happen. When CFBG first put their report out I thought that maybe we would see much of the region united with Cambridge going it on their own but I think even that has slim to no chance now.
I don't know how I feel about partialy amalgamating the region. I'm kind of an all or nothing kind of person.
How do others feel about the posibility of part of the region amalgamating? If it was only a partial amalgamation would we keep the regional government or would we no longer need it?

I have an all-or-nothing opinion on this, and while I am Pro Almagamting...I am doubtful that it will happen in this decade.

dunkalunk Feb 7, 2009 10:35 PM

The last thing we want to do is copy the Montreal example in which former municipalities began to break off from the region.

The most likely scenario I see would be for Kitchener, Waterloo, Woolwich and possibly Wilmont agreeing to combine city services and administration, leaving Cambridge to do as they wish. They would be amalgamated in everything but name.

Hopefully this would help protect the countryside line similar to what hepped with the NCC and the greenbelt. We do not need any more development north of Benjamin road or County Squire.

waterloowarrior Jan 8, 2010 9:00 AM

Amalgamation may be back on the table, but only for two cities
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/653071

January 08, 2010
BY TERRY PENDER, RECORD STAFF
KITCHENER — Amalgamation may be back on the local political agenda, but only for two cities.

Councillors for Kitchener and Waterloo will be asked Monday to support a referendum, to be included in this fall’s municipal elections, about holding merger talks between their two cities.

High-tech executives are scheduled to appear as delegations in both Kitchener and Waterloo with a simple request — that both city councils ask the Ontario government for permission to include a single question on this fall’s ballots.

The question: “Would you support members of council engaging in a dialogue about the merits of merging the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo? Yes or No.”

Unlike previous attempts at amalgamating the eight municipal governments of Waterloo Region, this one focuses solely on the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo.

The latest group to push for the talks includes Ian Klugman of Communitech and Tim Jackson of Tech Capital Partners. Part of the push includes an open letter delivered earlier this week to the mayors and councils of Kitchener and Waterloo and signed by more than 50 leaders in business and the arts, including Sandvine president Dave Caputo, Open Text executive chair Tom Jenkins, David Marskell, executive director of the Waterloo Region Children’s Museum and Jamie Grant, general manager of the Centre in the Square.

“I suspect there will be some questions but I also suspect there will be some support,” Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr said in an interview Thursday.

“How can you say ‘no’ to engaging in some dialogue?” Zehr said.

In the 1990s, the Conservative government under then-premier Mike Harris forced amalgamations in Sudbury, Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton, among other cities. But that government would not force the issue in Waterloo Region.

In 2006, a push for amalgamation came from a group called Citizens for Better Government. That, too, was unsuccessful in advancing the issue among the region, the three cities and the townships.

This latest move is focused solely on Kitchener and Waterloo.

Zehr is on board all the way — holding a referendum, holding talks and creating one city out of two.

“If we cannot have a one-tier system, then at a minimum, Kitchener and Waterloo should look at merging, because it makes eminent sense,” Zehr said.

In Waterloo, Coun. Mark Whaley gets excited about “extending Waterloo’s borders to the 401.”

When Whaley was first elected in 2003, the two cities were not co-operating.

“Today, we have almost 60 joint service initiatives,” Whaley said, “and I have voted for every one of them.”

Holding a referendum and then merger talks is a natural evolution, he said.

“We are talking about a dialogue on merging our cities to provide better services,” Whaley said.

Whaley does not want to see the current push for a municipal merger get bogged down in holding talks with municipalities that are not interested in even talking about it.

“Why try to partner with people who do not want to partner with you?” Whaley said.

Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig has been one of the most vocal opponents of amalgamation into a megacity. Craig and his council were not included in a letter from those pushing for the merger of Kitchener and Waterloo.

The open letter delivered to council members said, in part:

“How effective is our messaging to regional, provincial and national audiences? Are we maximizing our potential for provincial and national funding and for investment attraction? Is our current twin city structure the right plan for ensuring a sustainable and prosperous future?”

“Past efforts to address these questions have yielded no conclusive community viewpoint because the discussion has never properly begun. The only way to have this important conversation about our future is to give it the attention it requires, warrants and deserves — by asking the Province of Ontario to create the environment required for effective dialogue and debate through posing a direct question to the people of both cities during the 2010 municipal election,” says the letter.

tpender@therecord.com

timc Jan 8, 2010 12:53 PM

I really hope this gets a shot. I've wanted to see amalgamation for about as long as I've lived in K-W (15 years).

rapid_business Jan 8, 2010 7:45 PM

[Obligatory comment from DukeofWaterloo about the leech that Kitchener will be if attached to Waterloo in any form./]

kitchener-lrt Jan 8, 2010 9:25 PM

I'd like to see Kitchener and Waterloo amalgamated. If nothing else, then at least our fire departments.

Actonite Jan 8, 2010 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timc (Post 4640482)
I really hope this gets a shot. I've wanted to see amalgamation for about as long as I've lived in K-W (15 years).

I feel the same way.

I was quite happy to hear that several politicians from Waterloo liked this idea of at least opening up the discussion.

I would love to see the whole region united some time but K/W would be a wonderful start. The idea of getting this on a ballot may seem like a small step. After all the referendum question would be about simply getting discussions started but the fact this has been kicked around for decades and has never made it that far makes this a much bigger step than we've ever seen before.

dunkalunk Jan 9, 2010 4:56 AM

I like the idea, especially involved will the full amalgamation of services, the only thing that still irks me is the whole name issue. What on earth would we call this new municipal entity? I for one propose K-Dubblesburgh.

mpd618 Jan 9, 2010 5:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dunkalunk (Post 4641888)
I like the idea, especially involved will the full amalgamation of services, the only thing that still irks me is the whole name issue. What on earth would we call this new municipal entity? I for one propose K-Dubblesburgh.

I think it would be pretty hard to get people behind anything except Kitchener-Waterloo -- which it already is. But how about Kitloo?

Anyway, I'm for it, as I think at this point the division between Kitchener and Waterloo is a purely academic one. It's hindering the servicing and urban planning that should be happening in a coordinated fashion.

Tibor420 Jan 9, 2010 12:59 PM

Nice to see this being talked about again.... if the region did all merge I always was partial to the name "Grand River, Ontario"... i dunno why it just sounds good...

(Raises flame shield)

The Grand River Rangers even kinda works...

DHLawrence Jan 9, 2010 3:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpd618 (Post 4641927)
Anyway, I'm for it, as I think at this point the division between Kitchener and Waterloo is a purely academic one. It's hindering the servicing and urban planning that should be happening in a coordinated fashion.

Which is why merging the two will be the easiest amalgamation to accomplish; all you have to do is cross the street to go from one to the other. With Cambridge and the townships, there's still a rather large divide between them and KW, both physically and mentally, one that's likely to persist for a long time. (Interestingly, when Galt wanted the the new Preston-Hespeler-Galt-Blair city to be called 'Galt', Preston and Hespeler threatened to join Kitchener unless they compromised.)

I wonder--considering how big the divide between the townships and the urban areas is, what would be the likelihood of the outer regions of the townships being turned over to surrounding counties if the rest of the region merges together? Presumably communities like St Jacobs and Breslau would join the new megacity since their existence is tied into ours so closely.

kitchener-lrt Jan 10, 2010 1:52 AM

Name wise, I'd like the new city to be named Berlin. There's history behind it, plus, the region is already named Waterloo.

Actonite Jan 10, 2010 2:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kitchener-lrt (Post 4642888)
Name wise, I'd like the new city to be named Berlin. There's history behind it, plus, the region is already named Waterloo.

While I see your point about history but why give our city the same name as some other place?

Amalgamation is about moving in a new direction why not a new name?

I like Grand River but hey wouldn't Kitchener-Waterloo work? That's what everyone knows us as any way.

It sure will be fun if we actually have to decide on a name for our united twin cities in the near future. I can live with any name. I'd be ecstatic just have the two cities amalgamated.

timc Jan 10, 2010 3:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DHLawrence (Post 4642250)
Which is why merging the two will be the easiest amalgamation to accomplish; all you have to do is cross the street to go from one to the other. With Cambridge and the townships, there's still a rather large divide between them and KW, both physically and mentally, one that's likely to persist for a long time. (Interestingly, when Galt wanted the the new Preston-Hespeler-Galt-Blair city to be called 'Galt', Preston and Hespeler threatened to join Kitchener unless they compromised.)

Just hold on a second there. It's not all rainbows and lollipops. There are a lot of differences between Kitchener and Waterloo for two cities so close together.

Things like utilities: would I still be with Waterloo North Hydro, or Kitchener Wilmot Hydro? Union Gas or Kitchener Utilities? Two separate water systems, and the related issue of fluoridation.

Things like services: fire service rationalization between the communities. Waste collection. Street cleaning.

Planning, bylaws, permits, etc. are all managed separately.

Of course, taxes are also different between the two.

I'm not saying it can't be done, and in fact, there really shouldn't be all these differences between the two communities, which is a good reason for amalgamation in the first place. I'm just saying that there is a lot of work that would need to be done to make it happen.

BTW, my vote for name is 'Kitchener-Waterloo'.

DHLawrence Jan 10, 2010 3:55 AM

But there will be a lot less work than there would be if all three cities were amalgamating.


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