During the town's next finance, administration and policy committee meeting, scheduled for this Thursday, Nov. 20, the local legislator plans to bring to the table a controversial issue the former town council discussed at length in 2005 - the number of councillors who should serve the municipality.

"I have put forward a notice of motion to reduce the size of council," Minnille said.

Currently, 11 members represent the residents of Mississippi Mills. They include the mayor, four Almonte ward councillors, four Ramsay ward councillors and two Pakenham ward councillors.

"I think the number of councillors should be cut down to five, plus the mayor and a deputy-mayor," Minnille continued. "That would make a total of seven members, which would allow for there to be no tie votes. I am also proposing that there be no wards, meaning five people from Pakenham could run for council if they wanted to. It also means that, even though you may live in Ramsay, someone from Almonte could still vote for you. We are Mississippi Mills and there should be no more wards."

Minnille went on to state that he regularly receives calls from Pakenham and Ramsay residents, seeking his help as a councillor."

While Minnille feels that there is a possibility that his fellow councillors will consider reducing the size of council, he is not so sure that his request to eliminate the wards will be as equally accepted. Therefore, he added, that by having a seven-member council (with a mayor and deputy-mayor elected at large), this could still allow for two councillors from Almonte, two from Ramsay and one from Pakenham.

"I don't expect that we will save money by reducing the size of council, but I do believe that it will save staff time and reduce the length of meetings and designate some power to staff to better do their job," Minnille said. "A lot of things come across the council table that don't need to come to us at all. I believe the last time this issue was brought forward, it was too early for me to really understand what the best option would be, Now that I have been on council as long as I have, I see that we really do not need as many members as we have and as many sub-committees as we have. It impedes progress and too many people are getting carried away."

The councillor went on to suggest that some of his fellow councillors may not view their job as councillors from a true, business standpoint.

"To some people, it is a social club while others have nothing else to do with their time," he said. "It's not a social club to me. When I go out there, it's to do business. There's way too much micro-management going on."

Background

In December of 2005, the former Mississippi Mills Council unanimously decided not to pass a bylaw that would have reduced the size of council from 11 members to seven. The decision at that time came following much heated discussion about the issue during the months prior and from input received from concerned residents who did not want to see a loss in representation around the council table. The original discussions came about following a consultant's report, which suggested a seven-member council.

 Many of the councillors at that time, noted that, even though they supported a smaller council, they voted against the motion based on the opinions expressed by the public.

"I still think that a smaller council would be a step in the right direction," Minnille continued. "We don't need 10 councillors and a mayor. I have faith in a smaller council, which will allow staff to do its job more efficiently. With fewer people to deal with, I think things will work a lot better."

Keep reading The Gazette for further updates.