The ball is now rolling to look at reducing City Council’s numbers.
Councillor Rebecca Johnson argues it’s been decades since the city really looked at whether we need this many Ward and At-Large reps.
“Maybe it’s time, and what we have right now might be the right thing. I don’t have any idea, but I really think you need to look at things,” Johnson says.
McKellar Ward Councillor Brian Hamilton is hesitant that it could lead nowhere.
“Other communities have tried different systems, and came back to their old systems. That’s another thing, aside from kind of trying to get the best representation, I don’t want to be jumping from one and then jumping back,” Hamilton warns.
Current River’s Andrew Foulds doubts they should ask for city administration to take on this big of a task during the pandemic.
“I guess I question whether we want the [City] Clerk to embark on this endeavour, or do we want the Clerk focusing in on reopening the city?” Foulds asks.
Council was going to direct their staff to investigate trimming their seats down to nine Councillors, but that was scrapped. The city isn’t aiming for a specific number of Councillors at this time.
City staff will come back with information about adjusting the size of Council in time to prepare for the 2022 municipal election.
