Plenty of confusion over who does what in region

Most respondents supported current municipal setup, but critics said they worry accountability is lost when people are unclear about who is in charge

WATERLOO REGION — A Waterloo parent had the sorry job of explaining how local government works to their teenager, who was voting for the first time in the 2018 municipal election.

“It was almost comical trying to explain to them who was running for what positions and what responsibilities they would have,” the parent told the province in a survey.

“Ultimately, my new voter decided to only research the regional chair candidates and vote for that position, and not bother with all the other candidates.”

There’s plenty of confusion about how 59 politicians elected to eight councils provide municipal services to residents, The Record found in a survey conducted by the Ontario government.

In 2019, the government asked residents how they might change local government. The government changed nothing and withheld names in releasing 1,052 responses from local residents.

“It is very difficult/confusing for the public to decipher which looks after what services,” a Kitchener resident who holds a municipal job told the province.

Critics told the province they worry that accountability is lost when citizens are unclear about who is in charge. Residents may look to the wrong council, or feel they are getting the runaround when told to approach a different council.

“The general population doesn’t understand the service delivery of city versus region. As a result they view the city having jurisdiction over most services,” wrote a Kitchener business owner. “That results in the region (politically) being unaccountable to ratepayers.”

While most survey responness dents support the current municipal setup, some told the province that the division of services makes it harder for the community to move in one direction.

“The current system is difficult to navigate and bring all priorities into alignment,” wrote a Waterloo planning consultant who deals often with local governments.

Another Waterloo resident pointed to roads and water, which are shared services. It is “very confusing to the public who is responsible for what ... Both tiers are responsible for planning, which is confusing and seems to be a duplication. Also, there are a lot of politicians.”

A different Waterloo resident complained “there does not seem to be any published list” of services provided by regional government. A published list that is 16 pages long was supplied to Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark before he abandoned his review into municipal reform.

A more concise spreadsheet listing 27 municipal services from A to W (ambulances to water) was also shared with Clark. It reveals that:

12 services are the sole responsibility of regional government.

10 services are shared among cities, townships and the region.

Five services are the sole responsibility of cities and townships.

In practice, politicians often treat municipal services as shared even when they are not.

For example, regional council provides space to train firefighters even though firefighting is a responsibility that falls solely on cities and townships.

Similarly, Cambridge city council recently provided $10,000 to help fight homelessdespite arguments that housing is a responsibility that falls solely on regional council.

Council leaders are generally unconcerned about confusing the public. “There is voter apathy and there is voter laziness in not really understanding who does what at all different levels,” Cambridge Mayor Kathryn McGarry said. She figures voters must do more to educate themselves.

Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky recommends asking Google if confused about who does what. “Technology has solved this problem,” he said.

Regional Chair Karen Redman figures residents want services delivered and “I don’t know that they are necessarily fixated” on who delivers that service.

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic cites a different survey conducted by Kitchener that found most residents are not confused about who does what.

Others point out politicians may find shared services useful to help evade accountability. The municipal setup “does allow both staff and elected officials to kind of dodge responsibility,” Kitchener regional Coun. Tom Galloway said.

He cites an example. Who is responsible if your tap water is dirty? The water system is shared so the problem could belong with the region or a city and both could point at each other.

Former regional chair Ken Seiling sees “opportunities to refine how services are delivered to make it clearer. But obviously at this time there’s no political drive to do that.”

The province hired Seiling in 2019 as an expert adviser to recommend municipal reforms. After paying $49,155 for his advice, the province made no changes, shelved the report he co-authored, declared his secret report exempt from public access, and had him sign a nondisclosure agreement.

“I think accountability is one of the most important issues there is in municipal government, and that’s certainly why a good chunk of our report addressed accountability,” Seiling said in an interview.

A Waterloo business owner gave the province a thoughtful critique on public bewilderment.

“The rationale of various services being delivered by different governments is confusing. For example, police and paramedic services are regional, but fire services are not. Water supply is a regional responsibility, but water delivery is the responsibility of the lower-tier municipalities. These make no sense,” the business owner wrote.

Another Waterloo resident wrote: “There doesn’t seem to be much rationality in the division of services. Some things are at the lower tier, and some are at the upper tier. And it takes a lot more expertise than it should to know which is which.”