MANITOULIN—The Manitoulin Planning Board (MPB) appears to be in favour of a suggestion put forward by the Northeast Town for better representation on the board, with the outcome being a possible change to a per capita voting system on the board.
“I would have no issues with a weighted vote,” said planning board member Brad Ham at an MPB meeting on Tuesday.
“I think it would be a great first step,” said Ken Noland, chair of the planning board. “Instead of throwing mud in the papers, it would be good to be able to sit down and talk things out at the board table.”
“It is a constructive idea,” said Austin Hunt.
As reported in this week’s edition of The Manitoulin Expositor, representatives from the Northeast Town met with Manitoulin Planning Board (MPB) executives on Monday to discuss the Northeast Town’s desire for better representation on the board, with the outcome being a possible change to a per capita voting system on the board.
“We (Northeast Town CAO Dave Williamson and planning board representative Bruce Wood) met with the executive on the planning board today and presented a proposal to change voting on the board to per capita when requested by a board member,” Northeast Town Mayor Al MacNevin explained on Monday. “Our (Northeast Town) council wants better representation on the planning board and originally had discussed approaching the planning board about a change to the representation distribution on the board, but we felt this could be problematic with some of the smaller municipalities.”
Currently, the MPB is comprised of 11 representatives, one from each of Manitoulin’s municipalities. The province appoints two representatives from the unorganized townships for a total of 11 members who each have one vote.
The Northeast Town has been in discussions with Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) representatives and even Minister Linda Jeffrey (who has recently resigned) herself about wanting to leave the MPB and establish its own planning authority due to various issues between the municipality and the planning board.
Last month, the Northeast Town agreed to work with the planning board, with assistance from the MMAH, in reaching a compromise to stay with the board while also addressing the Northeast Town’s desire for better representation.
A suggestion by the MMAH was a restructuring of the planning board based on population, which would see the Northeast Town have more representation on the board.
“If the board was to be restructured based on population, the Northeast Town would have three representatives, as would Central Manitoulin, but some of the smaller municipalities would have to share a seat,” explained Mayor MacNevin. “This might leave some municipalities feeling like they don’t have a say at all, so we proposed a change to a per capita vote. If this change was implemented, any board member could request a per capital vote on any issue, letting our vote, or other large municipalities, have more weight in the issues that affect us.”
In his presentation to the MPB executive, Mayor MacNevin stated, “at the present time the planning board is comprised of nine municipalities with one appointed representative each. The province appoints two representatives from the unorganized townships for a total of 11 members who each have one vote. To illustrate the unfairness of the current model we only have to look at the population numbers (of municipalities on Manitoulin) and that the Northeast Town has 32 percent of the population yet it only gets less than 10 percent of the voting power on issues that impact its citizens. The percentages are relatively the same using households or assessment numbers for comparison as well.”
“We are proposing a new model that reflects the realities of both our population and our financial contribution to the planning board,” explained Mayor MacNevin. For the purposes of discussion he attached a table providing an example of a model that provides representation using population numbers. “As you can see this model would require additional seats for the Northeast Town and Central Manitoulin and the combining of seats for some of the municipalities and the unorganized townships. Although this model would be more representative it might create some issues. Some communities would not have a seat at the table and have no direct voice in putting forward their interests regarding planning matters. The province would also have to change how they appoint the representatives from the unorganized townships as well. The addition of more representatives also adds to what is already a fairly large board.”
Mayor MacNevin continued, “there is much room for discussion on this topic, but I would like to suggest a variation on this proposed model. Many organizations that recognize the importance of having a seat at the table, but with diverse population components, have used a model that votes on a per capita basis.”
“In the case of the MPB model it could still have the same number of members but when a vote is taken each member would vote with the strength of their population,” continued Mayor MacNevin. “All votes are conducted in the normal manner (for example one vote per member) unless any member requests a per capita vote. Having a preprinted sheet with the population beside the community name would allow for a quick tally to determine the result when requested. The procedure would be similar to the recorded vote methodology that municipalities currently use.”
Mayor MacNevin explained that if the MPB supported the proposal at its Tuesday night meeting, then the board and council could propose the change together to the MMAH.
Mr. Noland explained at the planning board meeting, “The Northeast Town feels that they pay one-third of the share of the costs of the planning board and should have one-third representation.”
This proposed reconfigured voting structure would come into play when the board is looking at policy, or zoning applications, the board was told. “I see no problem with the proposal,” said Gary Brown.
Mr. Noland pointed out the only possible downside is that currently there is a member for each unincorporated township appointed by the province. The funding received from the province is based on a formula and the number of members appointed by the province is part of this formula. The planning board, when there were five unincorporated areas, received over $43,000 in funding. The funding has been reduced to $16,073.00. Should there be a reduction in board members there would be a reduction in funding.
The Northeast Town proposal has gone to the legal office of the MMAH, said Mr. Brown.
In the meantime, “we can all take this back to our municipalities to see what they are thinking on this proposal,” added Mr. Brown.
“We keep hearing and reading about the planning board doing this and that, (but by having the Northeast Town) at the table this could be clarified,” said Mr. Noland. “If we are not told what the concerns and issues are it is hard to address them.”
Mr. Brown said before the planning board gives its formal agreement to the proposal, that it might like to first see the response from the MMAH to the proposal.
“Everyone can take the proposal to their own councils while we wait for the response (from the ministry),” added Mr. Noland.
