On Monday, Collingwood will get its shot to have a say on the future size of County of Simcoe council.
As part of council’s committee of the whole meeting on June 9, Collingwood council will consider a bylaw change at the County of Simcoe to reduce the size of their county council from 32 to 17 members.
Collingwood will start discussions during that meeting on whether they consent to the change. A decision from each of the County of Simcoe’s 16 municipal councils is being requested by the county by June 30.
After months of heated debate, in April, County of Simcoe council voted to change the composition of council starting next term.
Under that system, such a vote requires a “triple majority” approval, which means following the county approving the change, they also need at least half of their 16-member municipalities’ councils to pass similar motions at their local council tables, and the councils consenting must represent the majority of electors.
Currently, county council is made up of the deputy mayor and mayor of each of its 16 member municipalities (Barrie and Orillia are separated cities), including Collingwood, with the warden appointed from among those members, for a total of 32 members. Current Warden Basil Clarke is also the Mayor of Ramara Township.
Under the new system approved by county council in April, county council would instead be made up of just the mayors from each municipality, and those members would appoint a head of council among eligible electors, for a total of 17 members.
The proposed bylaw also includes required updates to the existing weighted vote system — a system based on the electoral size of each member municipality when a recorded vote is taken.
Council’s committee of the whole meeting will take place following their regular council meeting on June 9, which starts at 2 p.m. Any members of the public may attend in person in council chambers at Collingwood town hall, or virtually by Zoom webinar. The meeting will also be livestreamed on the town’s YouTube channel here.
If you’d like to have your say on the matter, unregistered deputations to council are permitted during committee of the whole.
-- With files from Nikki Cole
