REGIONAL HIGH ROAD
We do not have $ 1 billion dollars to do this work. There has to be a better way than hundreds of small municipalities scrambling after not enough funding.
So what do we need to start building stronger municipal government? We need more technical staff working for municipalities. We need better planning in municipalities. We need stronger revenue sources for municipalities. But more than that, we need people more engaged in how local decisions are made. We need councils with the capacity to reach out to residents in new ways. We need councils with the capacity to manage the increasingly complex web of regulations and to do so in the most transparent way possible.
There is no way 276 individual municipalities will meet these needs on their own. They need someone to take on the heavy lifting of infrastructure and planning and regulation so they can focus on the day-to-day local needs of their residents. Regional government can do that.
And before you start getting all riled up about red tape and bureaucracy, consider this: 74 percent of our municipalities have one— or fewer(!)— employees. This province is hardly sinking under the weight of massive municipal bureaucracy. Instead, we are suffering from a municipal system that cannot afford to provide the kinds of effective government services that people have come to expect in this day and age. We suffer from too little bureaucracy!
And for those who decry the addition of“ another layer of government,” remember that we are the only province— except for Prince Edward Island, population 146,000— that doesn’ t have some form of regional administration. So far, having a regional government hasn’ t spelled doom for any of the provinces with them. In fact, regional governance is the norm around the world. It’ s the way the world does municipal government.
We are the anomaly.
Finally, let’ s not forget that there are over 350 communities in this province that live outside municipal boundaries. That’ s about fifty thousand people who do not contribute to the roads, bridges, water systems, and sewer systems that keep our schools, hospitals, and businesses running. They also receive snow-clearing and other road-related services from the provincial government for little or no cost. Including these communities within a regional system means everyone pays his or her fair share. It will also mean that for the first time in their lives, fifty thousand people will have a say in how municipal government operates.
Municipal government is important. People fought and died in wars to protect our democratic right to have a say in how our communities are run. It is wrong that we allow this fractured patchwork of local democracy to continue.
WE NEED AN INTEGRATED, EFFECTIVE SYSTEM THAT CAN DELIVER THE SERVICES RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL TAXPAYERS WANT AND PROVIDE THE GOOD GOVERNANCE THEY NEED.
Municipal elections are coming in September of 2017. That is our deadline. By September of 2017, we need to know what we are going to do about regional government. Why? Because it is unlikely that enough sitting councillors will run again in 2017, and there are fewer and fewer people left to take their place. In 2009, there were fifteen municipalities with no candidates. How many will there be in 2017?
Fear isn’ t why we should do regional government though. We should do it because it will improve the lives of the people in this province. It will be a better system. Even the larger centres that are already providing high levels of service and don’ t necessarily need to join a regional group will benefit. Stronger regions will mean stronger cities and urban towns. They will benefit from the increased capacity of their neighbours.
MNL members are already prepping for a regional future. Many are involved in“ joint councils”— voluntary groups that meet regularly to discuss common issues in their region. When MNL called for expressionsof-interest in the idea of councils running“ virtual regional governments,” it got over a dozen responses. MNL is working with one group of councils that is already looking at ways it can incorporate regional approaches into its municipal budgets to save money and improve services. The future is almost here.
Soon, the provincial government will hold consultations on regional governance. Take the time to learn about the potential for regional government and have your say. We cannot continue the way we are going. We need stronger local democracy, and regional government will deliver. +
BY: CRAIG POLLETT, CEO, MUNICIPALITIES NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
Since 2001, Craig has been the Executive Director of Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador( MNL). Craig plays a leadership role in lobbying and advocacy; membership development and services; as well as policy research and development.
Prior to his work with MNL, Craig spent more than 10 years working in economic development and policy analysis; first with the Atlantic Entrepreneurial Institute at Memorial University and then moving to the Provincial Government as a Senior Policy Analyst.
FALL 2016 | 31