How and when a weighted vote can be used was a hot topic of discussion during Tuesday’s County of Simcoe council meeting.
A contentious topic for several months, county councillors were presented with several recommendations in a governance committee report, which was in response to a request by council May 13 that the committee outline the circumstances in which a weighted vote could be used.
The report suggested council approve two options: the first, to separate recorded and weighted votes, and the second, to require a weighted vote to be called only immediately prior to a vote.
“In our consideration, there is nothing wrong with the way the weighted vote is worked out now. It looks like they want to just do it on the budget, but when we are talking about any type of report that comes to county council, they all have financial implications of some kind,” said Bradford West Gwillimbury Mayor James Leduc. “Whether we are hiring a nurse or building a social housing complex, there is a financial impact to everyone around this table.”
Weighted voting and proportional representation is “baked into this house,” added Midland Mayor Bill Gordon.
“To pick and choose when we speak on behalf of all of those residents who we are here to represent doesn’t make sense to me," he said. "Proportional representation isn’t a switch we turn on and off at will and this, quite frankly, hasn’t been an issue until it was an issue around council size reduction."
Gordon said he doesn't believe that “tinkering” with weighted votes, which equals proportional representation, is something councillors have any authority or mandate to do.
“We are here, in the size we are right now — and potentially smaller in the future — with the power and the voice of all of those people behind us. To choose when the power and the voice of all those people is allowed to be used in this house is just wrong," he said.
Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin said she “respectfully disagreed,” noting one of the pieces she didn’t like about the weighted vote system was that you could have a vote, and if you didn’t like how the vote went, you could ask for another vote and have it weighted.
The suggested options, she said, allow for any member to call for a recorded vote without it being weighted.
“If you just want to make it known that you voted for or against something, you can just call for that recorded vote," Dollin said. "Then, if you wish you can call for a recorded weighted vote, and they’d be two separate things, you’d be required to do that before and couldn’t ask for a second one.
"I think that is fair to everyone," she added.
Collingwood Deputy Mayor Tim Fryer said while he doesn’t see anything wrong with the status quo, in the spirit of compromise he would be willing to accept the two recommended options.
Due to a weighted vote, that recommendation was ultimately approved, with 119 in favour and 26 against. This decision is largely procedural, which means that on any vote at council a member can request a recorded vote — when voting outcomes appear in the official minutes — while not necessarily prompting a weighted vote.
The second approved option is a procedural adjustment that will require a weighted vote can only be requested immediately prior to a vote taking place, therefore removing the ability to request a weighted vote following the result of a regular vote.
A second vote later on in the nearly two-hour discussion addressed a different recommendation from the committee, which, if approved, would have resulted in each member of council only having one vote except for those regarding yearly budget approval, however that was ultimately defeated.
“The reason this was not what the majority approved at governance was because of concern that at every moment, the financial impact of the issue is at hand,” said Dollin
In the end, county council voted to maintain weighted votes going forward with three exceptions: it can no longer be utilized on council appointments; on votes that require two-thirds approval; and on the final vote for a bylaw changing council composition.
