Wellington county could see another warden gaining a second consecutive term.
And if current Warden John Green has his way, that second year would become automatic.
Green announced at county council on Nov. 29 that it might be time to have a two-year term for warden. He made that announcement after hearing the aspirations of all his councillors – with none of them running for the top job.
Council was to meet on Dec. 6 to hold elections for the warden and committee chairmen, so there still could be a challenger to Green.
He told council, “I firmly believe, the way terms go, we should consider two year terms for warden.”
Green himself had a reason for seeking his second term: projects.
“When you get enthralled with something, you want to see it through,” he said.
But Green, who served in the warden’s post prior to amalgamation and has just completed his second full term in the chair, had another reason for running.
When the Doug Kitchener and Harry Armstrong report restructured Wellington County in 1999, their strongest recommendation was that the warden had to be elected at-large, by all the voters, rather than just by county council.
There have been three attempts at county council since the restructured council of 1999 to have that type of election, and all of them have failed, often because of personal ambition. Everyone on county council wanted a turn at the warden’s job.
Green said, “We haven’t been able to sell a four-year term [for warden] so maybe we should do two.”
He said there are many county governments with budgets of less than 30 per cent of the money spent in Wellington County, and those counties and regions have heads of council elected at-large.
“Here, you have $169-million [in the budget], and you only govern for one year,” Green said. “There’s something wrong with that picture.”
While there has been no change yet to an elected at-large warden, there have been changes to the way the warden is elected.
Green ran two years ago against councillor Brad Whitcombe, who was the incumbent warden. Green lost that vote, but said he now understands what Whitcombe was attempting to do when he became warden for the second time in two years, and for the third time in six years.
Whitcombe was setting a precedent about how county council views the top job. At one time, people who stayed on council long enough and got along with other councillors got elected warden because it was “their turn.”
With wardens taking more terms than just one, that could fall by the wayside. As well, the job is nearly full-time, and now carries a salary of over $70,000 that reflects that.
Green said, “Brad, when I ran against you two years ago, there were some things that I didn’t consider. I do now.”
Green mentioned that the restructuring report insisted there be more county representatives than mayoral seats on the county, nine versus six. He said that was so mayors could not be parochial, and there would be people on county council who feel responsible for the entire county, and not just a particular municipality.
“Kitchen said somebody’s got to stand up for the county,” Green remembered.
When Green first got onto county council, there were 21 municipalities instead of seven, and those representatives were all reeves of townships, towns, or villages. They then had weighted votes, which meant that Green for example, as Reeve of Drayton, had one vote, while the head of Eramosa Township would have had more, because of that township’s higher population.
The problem with weighted votes, Green said, was that some would divide their votes on a contentious issue, thus avoiding making any decision at all.
Green urged all councillors of today to “think for the county. I don’t have a car plant in my municipality, but I probably have as many residents working in Elora, Palmerston, or Arthur as anyone. Think for the county … Ask if it is good for the county.
He said a subdivision in one municipality will benefit all the other municipalities in Wellington.
Green reiterated a need for county council to get back to the camaraderie it used to have. Many sessions over the past five years have been fractious.
He said it is time the county “deals seriously with growth,” and also noted councillors spend “too much time talking about money. We spend a lot of time talking about things that are not productive – and if that’s the case, we should all be replaced.”
Green admitted that there are differences of opinion but said councillors should consider camaraderie, and good faith.
He said when he attends conventions and walks down the halls, people from other municipalities say, “You’re from Wellington. You do things right.”
He said, “If you think of the county, everything you do will fall in line.”
And, Green added, councillors must “accept the decisions of council.”
Green also thanks county staff, and noted that many of them are involved in provincial issues because they are recognized for great strengths.
Green said he is “quite involved” in the Western Warden’s Association, and it is strongly lobbying for provincial changes to the farm taxes. He said in Mapleton his township collects $1.2-million in those taxes, but if the province changes and stops taking so much, he believes it could be $2.2-million
Infrastructure
Green said it is unfair of the province to have 400 municipalities vying for the same funding, and being in competition for it.
“The province gives you the money, but wants to tell you how to spend it,” he said, adding the association is trying to change that. He said the grants from the federal and provincial governments provide “great press” but it s not fair for the municipalities.
