City council pushing forward with ward system analysis

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on June 8, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Lethbridge city council on Tuesday voted 6-3 to move forward with a commission to perform a detailed analysis of the implementation of a ward system in Lethbridge.
Councillors Rajko Dodic, Nick Paladino and Jeff Carlson voted against the motion.
The Governance Standing Policy Committee failed to reach consensus on the matter recently.
A 2-2 vote meant a resolution to ask council to approve spending up to $250,000 to analyze the potential for a ward system was defeated.
So council in its entirety discussed the issue Tuesday.
A report submitted by City Clerk Bonnie Hilford called on the SPC to recommend council approve a one-time budget of $297,000 for the plan.
Acting mayor Belinda Crowson and councillor John Middleton-Hope voted for the motion at SPC while councillors Jeff Carlson and Rajko Dodic were opposed.
In the 2021 municipal election, a question was put on ballots asking “do you support using a ward system to elect city councillors (other than the mayor) starting with the 2025 municipal election?”
Of the 28,348 who voted – which was about 35 per cent of eligible voters – 55.69 per cent voted “yes” while 44.31 per cent voted “no” to the non-binding question.
Hilford told the SPC at its April meeting councillors wouldn’t have to live in the ward they run for election in. Ward systems are presently used in Calgary and Edmonton in the province and no rules exist about the minimum population to have one.
Dodic told council Tuesday they asked the question backwards putting it on the ballot in the last election before providing the public with all potential costs of looking into a ward system. He said if that had been done, he suspected Lethbridge voters would follow the lead of Red Deer voters who voted largely against looking into a ward system years ago.
He added if voters had heard from administration about the potential impact on taxes for a third bridge, they would have been opposed to that idea, as well.
Acting mayor Belinda Crowson opened debate Tuesday saying the matter had already been addressed twice at Governance SPC.
She said many issues exist including low voter turnout, a lack of civic engagement when council reaches out and council doesn’t demographically reflect the community. She also said across North America fewer working people are being elected at all levels of government.
She said people often feel they are left out.
The purpose of the commission is to look into all aspects of a ward system.
“There would be several places at which council would have the opportunity to make changes and have a say in this,” Crowson said.
“There are problems in our community and I think it is time for the community to have a conversation,” Crowson said. The commission will go through issues and come back to recommendations for council which will have final say in any which will be passed or not.
Mayor Blaine Hyggen said previous council didn’t do due diligence before putting the ward system question on the ballot and while he had concerns about the potential $297,000 cost, he said council has to move forward with it.
Councillor Ryan Parker said it’s incumbent upon council to do the research and council owes it to the community to perform due diligence on the issue.
Councillor Carlson however, said a ward system doesn’t automatically encourage voter turnout and he couldn’t support the motion.
Councillors John Middleton-Hope and Jenn Schmidt-Rempel spoke about the need to consult the public, Schmidt-Rempel saying council risked alienating voters if it didn’t go forward with the commission.
Middleton-Hope said he’s lived in a community with a ward system and said it’s an effective system and the money spent on a commission would be money well spent.

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