Voters may soon be asked to signal “yes or no” to a council review.

Councillor Chris Braney said he has had multiple conversations with residents from across the County that indicate overwhelming support for a review. 

“County residents expressed their views and instilled their faith that we as a new Council would undertake a governance review with a fresh approach and perspective,” he said. “It’s been some time since we’ve conducted a fulsome governance review around our Council table, and I believe we have a renewed passion to do so.”

He noted that a review could hold current Council performance against best practices to find areas for improvement.

“It’s not about looking for failings, but to maximize Council performance.”

Long Overdue

Mayor Steve Ferguson said if the Question went on the 2026 ballot, the next council could be charged with a review. Changes would not take effect until the 2030 municipal election.

Councillor Janice Maynard wondered if there wasn’t a chance to make headway on a governance review ahead of the 2026 election, and whether  the number of councillors and wards will be under review.

Councillor Braney said if a majority of councillors wanted to start the discussion, he was open to hearing from them.

A pair of local residents spoke in support. Penny Morris noted studies already undertaken in 2008 and in 2013 and also asked if they could not be considered now, perhaps avoiding the wait for a question on the ballot.

“Can we not now, before the 2026 election, take the excellent work and resulting recommendations of the 2013 Citizens Assembly into account to move this forward?” she asked. 

She added any review should consider remuneration, and noted the current annual salary of $26,000 poses a real obstacle to creating a more diverse and representative council.

Dorothy Bothwell said Councillor Braney’s resolution was timely. She said the sheer number of contentious issues and volume of deputations, comments, and petitions, suggest the community is not content with their government. 

“Residents are losing trust and confidence in Council governance, decision-making and follow-through on commitments,” she said. 

“Is Council really listening to its constituents?”