This is the eighth article of an eight-part series examining the amalgamation that reconfigured Wellington County from 21 municipalities to seven in the late 1990s.
It’s been over a decade since amalgamation and members of Centre Wellington council believe it is time to reflect on the past and look to the future of the municipality.
Centre Wellington consists of the town of Fergus, the village of Elora and portions of the townships of Pilkington, Nichol, Eramosa and West Garafraxa.
The northern portion of West Garafraxa was amalgamated into Wellington North while the remaining portions of Eramosa, Nichol and Pilkington were amalgamated into the new township of Guelph-Eramosa.
Joanne Ross-Zuj and Andy Goldie
While current CAO Andy Goldie was not with the township at the time, Joanne Ross-Zuj was an Elora councillor, later a Centre Wellington councillor, and now mayor.
“I lived through it,” Ross-Zuj said, adding that even after all this time, the process is evolving.
“Each year, we have learned so much about each other and all the different components of the municipality.”
She considered one of the most rewarding things the way in which council, staff and the community have adjusted to the change.
“It is all about how do we serve our community in the best possible way that we can within this new format,” the mayor said.
When amalgamation finally happened, “We woke up the next morning knowing we have to make it work – this is the way it is.”
She added, “Did we make mistakes? Absolutely. There were huge things done in the beginning – and as I look back now, I think, ‘Oh my goodness, if we’d only done it differently’.”
Ross-Zuj said there was lots of opinions that came in from across the surrounding area and lots of anxiety experienced by the residents.
“At the end of the day, a decision was made, so we had to make it work,” she said.
“We’re taking a serious look at the past 10 years and how we did business and how we can do better. We realized we are moving into another new time of doing business and we will have to make more adjustments.”
She considered part of the current success as being due to the experience brought to the table.
“Even though 12 years ago, we started with this huge group coming together … we now have the trust and confidence to come up with a new structure to take us to the future.
“The next 10 years are going to be very different than the past,” Ross-Zuj said, noting this could mean new formats for service delivery or a restructuring of employees within the municipality.
“If amalgamation hadn’t happened, we would all be searching for partnerships. Municipalities would never have been able to handle the regulations which have come forward (in the past decade).”
She estimated there are now 107 bridges within the municipality – of those, 34 are considered to be in critical condition – and 407 kilometres.
During amalgamation discussions, municipalities were told it would be revenue neutral, but Ross-Zuj said, “That was the biggest joke going – because the money did not follow the amalgamations.”
In Centre Wellington today, Ross-Zuj said the municipality is facing incredible infrastructure deficiencies.
“There is no possible way that the townships could have survived to do any of that work within their existing tax base.”
While some rural areas have argued they do not get municipal services, Ross-Zuj said roads and bridges are a municipal service.
“There’s been an enormous investment in that infrastructure alone,” she said.
Goldie added the rural areas also make use of support services such as recreation centres, parks and tourism opportunities.
He added, “the rural communities rely on the urban communities as much as the urban areas depend on the rural areas.”
Ross-Zuj said, “Making this work has been a very interesting challenge but it has brought our community together.”
She was uncertain as to what would have happened if the local community had not stepped up to the plate. Elora village had opposed amalgamation in principal – and Ross-Zuj was part of council of that era.
“In many cases, the theories are wrong. In the textbooks, they look good, but in practice they don’t,” she said.
Ross-Zuj added that in Elora, the council of the day never adjourned its final council meeting; the books were left open. She admits “we were very resistant to the theory of how we were supposed to operate.”
Even today, there are residents who hang on to their community neighbourhood and the traditions of those pockets.
“We’ve become far more respectful of each other because we have pulled together on the big issues,” said Ross-Zuj.
Goldie believed there were savings in the areas of water and wastewater, “But there is no way smaller municipalities could have dealt with the regulations.”
With an amalgamated system of water and wastewater, Goldie said it is far more efficient and effective serving the larger community.
He said he sees the struggles faced by municipalities to the north of Centre Wellington, where they are servicing such small numbers of people yet having to meet the same provincial regulations.
“In that sense, we are able to take a larger system and spread the costs out.”
He said that is one of the reasons places like Minto and Mapleton are approaching Centre Wellington – because it now has the expertise to serve the larger system.
He said in other areas of the county, there are now amalgamated communities that can now provide services that would have never have been provided before.
And he agreed the need for specific services may be subjective – with some saying the services are needed while others would say they are not.
Goldie said provincial strategies are now dictating growth patterns within the province and smaller communities would not have had the expertise to deal with the planning aspects.
Goldie said one of the biggest changes is the ease of contacting other municipalities for information or to brainstorm.
“We’re talking about seven municipalities rather than the 21 before. It is easier for us to get together and talk about issues,” said Goldie.
Sherry Clarke
Sherry Clarke was both a member of Fergus town council and also a councillor during the first term of the amalgamated Centre Wellington township. She later served as a ward representative on Wellington County council.
Clarke says “I think amalgamation was necessary as a cost control situation.”
What she found frustrating at the time was that there were a number of municipalities that were not willing work together.
“There didn’t seem to be a lot of trust in the councils between one another, which was very sad,” she said.
“We were told on Fergus council that amalgamation was going to happen – that the provincial government was going to make it happen. We felt it was better for us to unite together to decide for ourselves the course we would take.”
Even now, Clarke has a number of concerns, one of which is policing.
“Right from the get-go, it was going to be the Ontario Provincial Police,” she said.
She noted the Fergus Police put presentations forward, but the other municipalities were used to the OPP, and Fergus was the only municipality [in Centre Wellington] which had it’s own police force.
“I think personally, we’ve lost a lot through the loss of the personal contact – knowing the officers on the street,” she said.
“At the time, I wish I’d bet money when I said within five years, the police budget would double. It did – more than that.”
At the same time, she admits that had Fergus police contracted to do all of Centre Wellington, its budget would have increased as well.
As a Fergus representative on the first Centre Wellington council, Clarke opined, “To this day, the business community and locals still feel that they don’t get the policing they were accustomed to.”
At the same time, she said she understood this is now a bigger municipality, “… and I think the OPP are doing a good job.”
She added, “Many of these meetings are held during the day. Probably 80 per cent of the people work days, so they cannot attend council committee meetings because it happens during the day.
“I think it is also important staff and council as elected representatives, be involved in the community. We’ve gone big city, we’re no longer the small communities because of the growth.”
She pointed to Centre Wellington’s population approaching 30,000.
“Do I like amalgamation? I think it has saved money. I don’t think the smaller communities could have survived without amalgamation – because of the downloading from the provincial government.”
Clarke said “all forms of government have to get back to the basics. There is only one taxpayer – that is you and me. Unfortunately the local municipalities have less and less say – even at the county level – which is directed by the provincial government.”
The county is directed to follow various provincial mandates and the rules set.
“I love Centre Wellington,” she said, adding local communities have not been lost in the process.
If anything, the more tricky part might be to recognize the boundaries of Centre Wellington.
“We are Centre Wellington, but no one knows exactly where Centre Wellington is. We are Fergus, Elora, Belwood, Aboyne.”
Like others interviewed for this series on amalgamation, Clarke too, sees the spectre of further amalgamations on the horizon.
“Do I want one tier government? No. But I think it is going to happen,” she said.
She noted one of the reasons behind amalgamation was the limitation presented by the urban boundary areas.
“Places like Fergus and Elora were hemmed in. There were subdivisions going into the border communities,” Clarke said.
Amalgamation has provided the opportunity for long-term planning to determine where the growth areas will be.
“Did I think amalgamation would save money? I think I did. Can I prove it? No.”
Clarke said one thing she had hoped for was more of a positive spin on trying to attract employable lands.
“Unfortunately there has not been a lot since amalgamation,” she said.
To those who believe the era of blue collar workers is gone, Clarke says, “I’m sorry, they are not. They are going to be around forever and I think we have to attract them.”
Otherwise, Clarke foresees the area will become more of a bedroom community and housing costs will continue to escalate.
“If the slots at Grand River Raceway leave the community God help everyone, because those funds to the municipality have paid for a lot in Centre Wellington – from roads to bridges.”
Mary Dunlop
Mary Dunlop was in the centre of the storm back in the late 1990s as reeve of the village of Elora.
Elora at the time, was the main holdout in the amalgamation process – something she believes is not finished.
“It is still evolving. There is a lot more to come,” Dunlop said, adding her opinion hasn’t changed on the issue over time.
“At that time, [Elora] village did not want amalgamation.”
She stressed the issue was “about the process – not the people.” She said there was talk that people in Fergus did not want to join the people in Elora, or that the people in Elora did not want to join with people in West Garafraxa.
“That was never the case,” she said.
She added one part of the process not frequently mentioned is a portion of the oft-cited report on Wellington’s amalgamations that specifies the current arrangement was considered an interim step towards the path of single-tier government.
The interim step was created, Dunlop said, because it was felt that full, single-tier government would not be accepted.
“I think one-tier government will happen,” she said. “I don’t believe in it, but I think it will happen.”
One of the main things Dunlop has observed in the years since amalgamation is a power shift – away from local municipalities to the county layer of government.
“Local municipalities now have very little power over financial issues or in its dealings with the province. The county has more control than ever before.”
Dunlop contended it is the upper tier government which is now the main power player in Wellington.
The upper tier controls roads, planning and social issues, matters previously looked after by lower tier governments.
“I don’t believe amalgamation should have happened,” she declared.
When amalgamation was being proposed, some argued there would be cost savings and streamlined government.
“Clearly that has not happened,” said Dunlop.
As proof, she pointed to the situation of neighbouring Dufferin County, which has rural municipalities of similar size that did not amalgamate.
She said that during the amalgamation process Jack Layton was a Toronto councillor – also opposed to amalgamation in that region.
Elora representatives were invited to hear Layton speak on the issue.
Dunlop said Layton argued that, “Amalgamation would make Toronto more powerful than the province.” She opined, “In many cases, it is.”
“I don’t think I saw any savings in taxes or streamlining of the local government.”
But not everything was negative, Dunlop stressed.
She said even in the 1990s partnerships were being developed in the area of recreation and schools.
This has allowed young people to be more competitive than ever and allowed them to interact with more people.
While stating she did not approve of the idea of a single-tier government, Dunlop agreed that it would eliminate one layer of government.
Dunlop wondered what powers and responsibilities local municipalities really have any more, noting the largest portion of tax dollars goes to the upper tier.
At the same time, Dunlop had nothing but praise for current members of Centre Wellington council.
Dunlop noted two Elora councillors are still in politics – Ross-Zuj and Shawn Watters, a local ward representative on Wellington County council.
“I think they are doing a really excellent job,” said Dunlop.
The same could be said for long-time Fergus area representative Walt Visser.
While she had good things to say about the other members of council, Dunlop noted, “They’ve never had to deal with the same issues.”
In the end, Dunlop declares, “I think we didn’t accomplish anything [with amalgamation].”
“If it were up to me, I’d just let this evolve – I don’t think we have a choice.”
She anticipated the result will be even more power going to the upper tier.
She sees local municipalities no longer being able to access local grants or having the authority they once had.
Russ Spicer
Spicer served on West Garafraxa council at the time of amalgamation, and later as member of Centre Wellington council and as mayor from 2004 to 2007.
He continues his involvement in the community sitting on the Police Services Board for Wellington County, Habitat for Humanity-Centre Wellington Build and the Fergus-Elora Rotary Club.
Spicer explains the area had reached an economic juncture.
“We had jobs which could be shared – creating full-time positions rather than a number of part-time ones,” he said.
In addition, the amalgamation of such positions, allowed municipalities to ask for better qualifications.
From a tax perspective, Spicer said there was a considerable amount of infrastructure work which needed to be kept up.
There were concerns that as smaller municipalities, some of that work might fall behind.
In West Garafraxa, with over 100 bridges, council of the day was concerned with the amount of infrastructure work needed.
He explained that by sharing the workload, the infrastructure work could be done more effectively and efficiently.
“So it only made sense,” said Spicer. “I believe it was successful at the time and during the ensuing years we had to sharpen our pencil to find further efficiencies.”
He believes all of Centre Wellington benefited from the amalgamations.
Spicer pointed to the use of municipal equipment as an example.
Though each municipality worked towards purchasing the most efficient equipment, the larger area allowed that equipment to serve a larger population and sometimes in additional ways.
The same held true for staff, he said.
Overall, Spicer said the amalgamations led to better planning.
In addition, he believed the larger scale of the municipality resulted in additional savings in dealing with companies involved in various project – such as the expansion at the Fergus recreation centre.
Comments from former Nichol reeve and first Centre Wellington Mayor George Pinkney and former West Garafraxa reeve and Wellington County Ward councillor Robert Wilson were published in the first of the amalgamation series articles on Sept. 28.
For an amalgamation opinion piece from current Centre Wellington fire chief Brad Patton, visit www.wellingtonadvertiser.com.
