Chapter 6, Tindal and Graham Local Government

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Chapter 6, Tindal and GrahamLocal Government

• Categories of municipality and other local bodies
• Municipal roles
• Merits of current amalgamation push

2
Local Governments

• Comprised of some 4000 municipalities and a
  similar number of ABCs
• Classifications of municipality include
• urban units - villages, towns, cities
• rural units - townships, districts
• upper tier units - counties, regions
• Much of Canada is unorganized territory (no
  municipal structure)

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Municipal Governing Structures

• Basic model is council and departments
• May add standing committee system
• CAO can bring administrative coordination
• Executive Committee for political direction
• Political parties a mixed blessing
• Business models focused on ASD options

4
Local Boards (ABCs)

• Examples include school boards, PUCs, health
  units, library and police
• Most are largely independent of council, obtain
  at least some funds from user fees
• Criticized as unaccountable, fragmented
• But new interest in joint services boards, such
  as the GTSB

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What Do Local Governments Do? Look at page 71,
Graham

• Services to property examples are streets and
  roads, snowplowing, fire departments, garbage
  collection, tree-cutting and fire restrictions.
  Services to people examples are police, business
  hours and other regulations, recreation, social
  services, school funding.
• Funding comes from property tax, along with
  provincial and federal transfers.

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History

• Types of municipal units Cities, towns,
  villages, counties. Rural municipalities are
  townships, parishes, rural districts.
• Oldest form of government in Canada.
  Pre-confederation. Saint John NB incorporated in
  1785.
• Seen as the foundation of democracy
• Considered to be grassroots democracy.
  Community governing itself.
• Over 4000 incorporated municipal governments in
  Canada.

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Local Government Authority

• Conundrum community governing the community but
  are empowered by the Provinces. Why is this?
  Pre-confederation debates led with the belief
  that provinces had certain inalienable rights.
• 1867 British North American Act entrenched this
  right. Re-affirmed in the Canadian Charter of
  Rights and Freedoms Act 1982.

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Local Government Authority

• Local government created at the pleasure of
  the legislature. What does this mean?
• Powers are as defined by the legislature.
• Thus the conundrum that the perception that local
  government is the community governing the
  community is false. It is the community governing
  as defined by the province.

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Local Government Politics

• Politics impacted by urbanization and
  industrialization.
• Problem with political parties at the local
  level.
• Mixed reception. Some cities have municipal
  parties. Others may be local branches of national
  parties. Most do not have them, though the
  candidates may have their own personal
  affiliations.

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Local Government Politics

• For political parties enable the representation
  of the collective interests of the community .
• Against parties municipalities are service
  providers to the full community. As such,
  decisions are largely administrative in nature
  and not policy.
• What do you think? Do party politics belong at
  the local government level?

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Local Government Finance

• Revenue property tax based on assessed value of
  property for homeowners, property tax and
  occupancy tax for businesses. Assessments are
  related to market value somehow.
• Grants in lieu of taxes (GILT) federal -
  provincial payments in recognition of costs of
  local service provision. The federal and
  provincial governments do not pay property taxes.
  The constitution exempts them. Crown lands and
  properties exempt. Churches, schools and
  universities are also exempt.

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Local Government Finance

• Other revenue
• User fees.
• water meters, recreation fees, parking meters
• Fines, licenses and permits.
• parking tickets, building permits.
• Sales of services
• property rentals, transit fares.

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Local Government Finance

• Transfer revenue grants - conditional and
  unconditional.
• Conditional means that the Municipality, in
  accepting the money from the province, agrees to
  certain provisions.
• Unconditional is generally an equalization
  payment.
• Financing services has often meant that provinces
  and municipalities have altered the proportions
  each pay for the service or have engaged in
  service exchanges, ex NS with social services
  for roads.

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Local Government Finance

• Expenditures Operating budget is for the
  administration and delivery of services
• Capital budget includes funds for capital asset
  development and management. (A capital asset is
  any municipal property that has a useful life
  that exceeds one year.)
• A critical function of council is budget
  management. Both a fiscal and policy tool.

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Local Government Planning

• As a property based service, municipal
  government is the key player in land development
  and utilization.
• Factors in land dealings (1) property ownership
  (2) differing interests (3) revenue (4) NIMBY (5)
  environmental issues (6) service delivery
  issues/conflicts

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Local Government Planning

• Effective land use municipalities that have a
  formal, participative, Municipal Planning
  Strategy.
• Example current status and future use of
  commercial, industrial, residential and
  recreational property. May purchase land for
  future use, esp. for roadways.
• Zoning. Development agreements.
• Provincial approval/ appeals may be required.
  Must meet provincial criteria, environmental
  considerations.

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Education

• Amalgamations also for school boards
• Boards under more provincial control in Ontario,
  Alberta - abolished in N.B.
• Commercialization of education as boards turning
  to private funding
• Charter (private) schools encouraged by Alberta
  and Ontario

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Municipal Amalgamations

• On the rise, especially in Ontario
• Valid for sharing costs more equitably, improving
  planning provision of services
• Not likely to bring the savings forecast
• Bringing bigger not less government
• Reducing local representation and access