By focusing on what it is good at, the County of Simcoe could come off like it is not taking a provincial governance review seriously, said Bradford West Gwillimbury Mayor Rob Keffer.
County council approved cost-saving recommendations at a meeting Tuesday, which outlined ideas councillors came up with at a brainstorming session last week to present a united front to the provincial review’s special advisors.
However, BWG Deputy Mayor James Leduc put forward a motion at county council, which was seconded by Keffer, that it should remove a line from the recommendation report about Warden George Cornell “(reaffirming) the current service delivery successes in the County of Simcoe.”
“I was thinking it was sending a mixed message to the province about finding efficiencies,” Keffer said, noting the county could come across as though it “wasn’t serious about efficiencies” by highlighting what it is good at.
Although BWG’s mayor and deputy mayor have been vocal supporters of the review — with Keffer recently suggesting making BWG a separated city would save tax dollars, and Leduc previously saying county council should be reduced in size through the review — Keffer said there is no animosity between the county and the town.
“It was an interpretation of what the wording meant. It wasn’t a divide of the municipalities,” he said. “It’s been an interesting exercise. I hope all county councillors are evaluating efficiencies in service delivery between the county and lower tier.”
Cornell said it is important to clarify county councillors were told “our communication back to the province will highlight successes, while seeking clarity on provincially desired outcomes to consider as we identify further efficiencies in our decision making, governance structure and service delivery models.”
The county has made “significant investments” in the southern part of the county, including $18 million in the Highway 400-Line 5 interchange, ongoing road enhancement projects, and support for the Highway 400-404 Connecting Link, wrote Cornell.
The county is also creating two working groups to examine “opportunities in service delivery and governance models to further our efforts,” he wrote in a statement to BradfordToday.
“The county takes the review very seriously and continuously works to improve services, adapt to growth and meet the changing needs of our residents and communities,” Cornell wrote.
“We acknowledge that there is room for further efficiencies, and our council is quite clear that we want to be proactive partners with the province in the review process.”
