Council keeps same size, is reviewing ward boundaries
Burlington is committed to ensuring democracy is working well for its citizens. That is why we are reviewing our Council composition and ward boundaries. The review is being carried out by consultants Watson & Associates Economists Ltd. who have finished the first phase of their review and presented a report to Committee of the Whole on December 2.
Here, they asked Council for direction before embarking on phase 2 of their study:
Should all local councillors also be regional councillors?
Should regional councillors be elected by wards?
Council size:
Burlington has had a seven-member Council since 1997, when Burlington had a population of 139,000. Since this time, the city’s population has grown and will continue growing. The city is expecting to grow to a population of 265,000 by 2051. As the city grows, we want to ensure voters are represented equally in their local government no matter what part of the city they live in.
To provide leadership and guidance, at Committee on Dec 2 I presented a motion to direct the consultant team to investigate and recommend council composition and ward boundary options where all councillors are local and regional councillors.
This was a result of consensus built by Council during our deliberations at our meeting, as well as mixed feedback from community members with no clear consensus on expanding council size. Together, we agree this model best represents our residents and serves our citizens effectively. On December 10th, we voted to move forward with this direction.
This model of governance with local and regional representation remaining with 1 person ultimately promotes efficiency, understanding, communication, and cost savings for our City. As a leader, I am committed to streamlining our democratic process and avoiding duplicate representation within municipal governance
Ward Boundaries:
The next phase of this study will move toward ward boundary review.
With Burlington’s population expected to grow, we are ensuring voters are represented equally in the decision-making process, no matter where they live in the city. Ward boundary reviews are typically undertaken by cities every three to four election cycles (12 – 16 years). This review will be conducted under 5 main guiding principles: 1. Representation by population 2. Future population trends 3. Communities of interest 4. Geographic representation 5. Effective representation
As outlined in the chart below, the consultants found that current ward boundaries do not meet two guiding principles: 1 representation by population and 2 future population trends.
Please stay tuned for engagement opportunities to come in the new year through Get Involved Burlington.