Believing another look is warranted, a Chatham-Kent councilor hopes to resurrect a long-standing debate about the size of council, as well as possible changes to ward boundaries.
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On Monday, Coun. Rhonda Jubenville entered a notice of motion to seek a third-party review, with her motion slated to return for approval on Feb. 26.
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She said there are jurisdictions with bigger populations and fewer members of council, believing the maximum in Chatham-Kent should be 12 councillors.
Currently, there are 17 councilors spread through six wards, plus the mayor’s position.
“When I campaigned, a lot of constituents did say our council was too large,” Jubenville said after the meeting, noting her motion is exploratory.
“I realize we’re a bit of a unicorn in the way the municipality is geographically spread out. You can’t really compare us to Windsor or London, but that being said, I do think we can look at things, see if we could work with a smaller council.”
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Jubenville, who represents North Kent, also asked that the report look into redrawing wards to include portions of Chatham proper and rural areas, admitting she’s “not sure how this would look,” but that a consultant could present options.
“To me, that would work on that urban-rural divide,” she added, believing councilors would need to “have a keen interest” in the outlying areas.
Previous Chatham-Kent councils, including in 2015, have discussed tweaks to ward boundaries and the number of councilors, but ultimately stayed with the status quo.
Some councilors at the time expressed concern about having fewer voices around the table, as well as less representation for residents.
In 2011, council voted down proposed boundary changes, after a governance task force was struck to consider the issue. The matter was also the topic of a corporate review in 2008.
If the idea does take the next step, Jubenville said there would be plenty of opportunities for public consultation.
She asked that the third-party report, pending council’s approval of her motion, return for discussion in advance of the 2026 municipal election.
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