Like other municipalities within Wellington County, those who lived through amalgamation in Erin have mixed feelings about its success.
The Town of Erin was ahead of the game compared to many of its municipal counterparts with the merger of Erin village and Erin Township on Jan. 1, 1998 – a full year before the onslaught of Wellington County amalgamations in 1999.
Barb Tocher
Currently a councillor for the Town of Erin, Barb Tocher was in the thick of things both before and after amalgamation. During the process she was reeve of Erin Township, and served as Wellington County’s warden in 1999.
“In our case, it was a natural fit with the Township of Erin and the Village of Erin,” said Tocher. “What I did find is that going from 21 to seven municipalities really reduced duplication by two-thirds. We didn’t have 21 CAOs anymore, we had seven.”
However, when asked if overall staff numbers dropped, her answer was somewhat different.
“Did the number of staff go down? I would say ‘no’. In the Town of Erin, no one was let go or dismissed. Positions were found for everyone.”
However, not all staff had the same job as they had before amalgamation.
“Not everyone was happy with that decision and we did lose some people who chose not to work for the new Town of Erin. But we did not let anyone go.”
Tocher said one benefit of reducing the amount of duplication, and the restructuring of departments, was that the municipality had a better ability to specialize amongst staff. It meant the town could consider having departments neither the township nor the village had in the past, such as a planner, Tocher said.
She pointed to other municipalities that now have economic development officers but did not have one before amalgamation.
“Have there been growing pains? Most definitely,” Tocher said.
With two municipalities joining, each did things differently, “and our constituents had to get used to the new way of doing things.
“Not everyone was happy with amalgamation, but by and large over the last 14 years, I think most of those issues have worked themselves out.”
When asked about the reasons behind Erin’s move to amalgamate the response was brief, “Mr. (Mike) Harris.”
“I don’t think any one of us would have voluntarily amalgamated,” Tocher added. “We were all so protective of our areas that we didn’t look at bigger pictures.”
She believed it was the provincial initiative which caused the amalgamations to occur.
“Some places were able to not amalgamation – and got away with it – but Wellington decided to move forward.”
At the time the village and the township felt the pairing was a great fit. “We also didn’t have a huge issue with the name – the Town of Erin came naturally.”
As to the designation of “town”, Tocher said there was some discussion at the liaison committee level that it was still a township-style municipality. The village felt more comfortable with a name change, and the township was conducive to the idea, so the name ended up being different – but the same.
“Our liaison committees consisted of both full council and department heads were at all of the meetings as well. We had good public turnout where we asked questions and got ideas.”
At the same time, she admitted there were bad feelings as well, as is common with any such change. In retrospect, Tocher agreed there may have been an additional cost in undertaking the amalgamation process, but “I don’t know if it was huge.
“I don’t think amalgamation saved us any money, but what it might have done is the increases in costs may have been less because of amalgamation. Costs were going to go up no matter what. Maybe we just staved off that increase over time. But being 14 years later, it is a really hard thing to measure.”
Tocher also agreed it is an entirely different world facing municipalities because of changed or additional regulations.
“In those days we weren’t dealing with the same provincial policies. We were not dealing with the Greenbelt, or Places to Grow, which have added a whole new layer of bureaucracy and cost.”
She also pointed to the changes in water regulations as a result of Walkerton.
“Life has changed incredibly since the time of amalgamation … I think amalgamation and the specialities we now have on staff, have helped us as a small community to weather those storms a little better than had we remained as small as we were.”
Tocher suggested some pre-amalgamation municipalities may not have survived.
“It’s difficult enough to survive today, with the issues we deal with, as a municipality of 11,000. A municipality with a population of 2,500 such as the village of Erin, or 8,000 like the township of Erin … I don’t know how they would have faced these increased costs.”
She said water costs would have been huge for the village of Erin and roads are always an issue. This way, she added, perhaps the town is spreading the costs out a little bit.
“I could make a really good argument right now that single tier government might be more effective,” Tocher opined. “It would just be taking the next step in amalgamation.”
She recalled a statement from a former county councillor who thought single tier might be the way to go. Originally she was appalled by the thought, but now Tocher says a single tier might be the answer.
When asked about the City of Guelph, it was something Tocher had not considered. She said the population of Wellington County alone has a population base of close to 100,000 as opposed to individual municipalities between 11,000 to 20,000.
“It allows you to prioritize in a different way and have the dedicated funds to fulfill certain projects.
“As much as we thought the amalgamation of small municipalities was a very frightening prospect, as much as something as a single-tier appears frightening – it is something politicians should be open to looking at.”
Tocher wasn’t certain more issues have been addressed, or even that the local issues have changed all that much.
“Every one of our sister municipalities in Wellington share the concerns of urban-versus-rural municipalities.
Tocher said one of the biggest projects in the community since amalgamation was the partnership with Wellington County and the Upper Grand District School Board in developing Centre 2000. It was something for which officials spent more than an entire term of council planning.
“I think our community is very proud of that centre. It is being used more than we dreamt it would be used. It’s been a shining example of working together – not only within the amalgamated community, but with other partners as well,” Tocher said.
She also commented the town’s Sewage Settlement Master Plan has been underway for a number of years.
“I think is a crucial study for the town and where it is heading. It is a necessary foundation for what is to come,” she said.
Rod Finnie
Though no longer in municipal politics per se, Rod Finnie remains a frequent fixture at council meetings, depending on the issue.
He was also there in the beginning, serving as the Town of Erin’s first and only deputy mayor – a special position created for the first year of the amalgamated town to assist in representing the community at Wellington County council.
In 1999, when the remaining amalgamations throughout Wellington County took effect, Finnie took a position as town councillor. He later served three terms as the town’s mayor until his defeat by Lou Maieron in the 2010 election.
When it came to amalgamation Finnie says, “the first intent, as I understand, was to reduce duplication and to reduce costs. I’m unsure if it was successful.”
Finnie noted most of Erin village’s staff found other employment, while the village building inspector left.
But Finnie did not believe there was a lot of savings in regard to staff salaries.
“Since amalgamation, any savings have been eaten up as a result of increased provincial demands and regulations,” he said.
At the same time, Finnie believes there were some issues between the town and the village that were resolved as a result of amalgamation. He pointed to the use of local recreation facilities and arenas as an example.
Finnie said there had been some complaints that township residents had access to the village community centre without having to share the cost.
As a professional surveyor, Finnie also saw conflicts in the two communities regarding planning issues such as the development of an industrial park next the village, but not actually within the village boundaries
In another instance there were adjacent subdivisions built – one in the village and one in the township. Finnie suggested a lack of communication in the development had resulted in stormwater inadvertently moving from a lot on the village side, to one in the township subdivision.
“In general, I think it was a good idea for our municipality,” he said.
Though he still sees some rivalry between the Erin and Hillsburgh communities, Finnie believes the move was good for the overall community.
“Change is always difficult and there were some disgruntled people at the time,” he said.
He noted there were some concerns from village staff when the decision was made to relocate municipal operations into Erin Township offices near Hillsburgh.
Even though the building was only a few years old and better equipped “there were some feelings that the village staff were the underdogs and that the township staff had taken over.”
Finnie believed that possibly a better job could have been done to help both staffs feel comfortable working together. He noted neither the village nor the township had much in the way of reserves at the time of amalgamation.
Finnie explained that in one instance the purchase of a new fire truck was paid for in part through the sale of a municipal asset – in this case the old Erin Township municipal office in Hillsburgh.
Although the approach worked, Finnie explained a municipality only has a limited number of assets it can afford to sell off.
And, while Finnie said it was not the case for either Erin Village or Township, he had heard that some municipalities spent a large portion of their reserves prior to amalgamation to provide the maximum benefit to local residents.
Ken Chapman
While Chapman currently serves as a Wellington County councillor, he also served a number of years as an Erin councillor.
In Chapman’s view, the amalgamations happened with little public input. He added that even the name was a decision made by the council of the time.
One of the meetings held by the village and township where it was told essentially what would happen and how.
“I don’t believe there was much public input,” he said.
And yet he believes there are ways in which amalgamation have been good for the community – “just not economically.
“There was no win-win-win situation. Having things bigger is not necessarily better.” Chapman agreed he had a bit of rebellious streak.
He said one of the positive things over the past decade is Wellington County taking over certain tasks such as waste management.
At the time of amalgamation, Erin Township had a transfer station, while Erin Village had its own dump.
Chapman contended that dealing with either issue could have incurred considerable costs. But having waste management dealt with by the county means the “blow is slightly less.”
However Chapman was firm in his belief that “going bigger cost taxpayers money,” while he agreed the world has changed since amalgamation took place.
“I don’t think the village of Erin has been properly represented for the past 14 years,” said Chapman.
He added that when he’d asked about initiating a ward system, he was told the decision was already made.
He considered councillor Deb Callaghan, the “first true representative of the village of Erin” within the amalgamated municipality (residing within the borders of the original village proper).
Lou Maieron
Current Mayor Lou Maieron believes amalgamation made sense in some respects.
He pointed to the growth in and around the fringe of Erin village.
Maieron said the township had allowed the development adjacent to the village, but on private individual or communal systems.
At the same time, the village had municipal water, but those services did not cross municipal boundaries.
And yet, he said economies of scale would have allowed the municipal water system to operate more efficiently and effectively.
At the time amalgamation happened under the Harris government with the idea that there would be savings. Some of that was accomplished Maieron said, since the new municipality had one, not two CAOs.
Maieron added that during his mayoral campaign, he pledged to undertake a 10-year review of the municipality, something he still intends to see happen.
He said new CAO Frank Miele will help look for further efficiencies within the town.
In most respects, Maieron sees amalgamation as making sense – rather than having a village exist within a township.
However, he believes a better approach is needed for representation. Previously, Maieron, who lives on the fringe of Erin village, suggested the need for a ward system within Erin.
Like Chapman, he pointed out that councillor Deb Callaghan is the first councillor elected from the original village boundaries since amalgamation.
Throughout his campaign, Maieron said he heard from people who felt they were not being represented adequately and suggested a ward system would provide representation by population.
“With the projected growth anticipated in Erin, maybe a modified ward system could better represent all aspects of the town,” he suggested.
Maieron also noted that representation concerns had not be voiced simply by Erin village residents, but in other sections of the municipality, such as Crewson’s Corners.
This is the third of an eight-part series examining the amalgamation that reconfigured Wellington County from 21 municipalities to seven in the late 1990s.
