Despite giving direction a few weeks ago to hire a third party consultant to conduct a review on the composition of Council and the ward boundaries in Chatham-Kent, Council decided to halt the process before it started.
A tie vote at their Monday night, April 29, 2024, meeting, resulted in a tender award contract to Strategy Corp in the amount of $68,251.50, which had been recommended by staff, to be denied.
A lengthy debate took place around the Council horseshoe before the vote was called.
“Previous municipal reviews were done in 2015, 2011 and 2008 however there has been no re-adjustment of ward boundaries since amalgamation,” said Judy Smith, municipal clerk, in a staff report.
“Population distribution has changed over the years. The population has increased approximately 2% from 103,671 in 2011 to 104,316 according to the 2011 and 2021 census, respectively. This growth has contributed to a variance in the ward averages, especially within Ward 6 (City of Chatham) and the two wards that border the ward, namely Ward 2 (South Kent) and Ward 4 (North Kent).The upcoming Chatham-Kent Official Plan review is expected to result in potential expansions or adjustments to certain urban boundaries.”
Read Smith’s full report, here.
