The Municipality of Chatham-Kent Council discussed a preliminary report on the ward boundary and Council composition review at their meeting on Monday, October 7, 2024.
A presentation was provided by Strategy Corp., who was hired to do the work earlier this year.
Chatham Councillor Brock McGregor entered a successful motion directed Strategy Corp. to bring back options for Council composition of 13 to 15, inclusive of the Mayor.
South Kent Councillor Anthony Ceccacci entered a successful amendment to also direct Strategy Corp to include the option of keeping the Council number status quo, while exploring re-drawn boundaries.
Strategy Corp. said in a report the next steps in the process will be as follows:
“Very few municipalities elect different numbers of Councillors per ward, and even fewer have wards that vary by more than one Councillor per ward,” Strategy Corp. officials said in a report.
“This would indicate that Chatham-Kent’s ward-based election method with differing numbers of Councillors per ward is extremely rare. In effect, Chatham-Kent’s structure of electing 6 Councillors in Ward 6 (Chatham) creates a mini ‘at large’ system within Chatham that is different from all the other wards in the former County of Kent where each ward elects two or three Councillors.”
Read the full report by Strategy Corp., here.
