Council held a special meeting last night at the Active Living Centre to get present options for the next municipal election and get feedback from residents. However, the event was sparsely attended by the general public.
Councilor Davis presented an option that would see ward boundaries re-drawn to correct imbalances in representation. Davis floated the idea of adding an additional councilor, if the need arose.
Tim Withey was in favour of doing away with ward boundaries all together, electing councilors at large, meaning that each councilor would represent the entire region and be responsible to all the residents. Withey went on to say that the change could be made easily and without any real costs.
Those in attendance voiced concerns about the historic nature of the ward system and concern in particular that Port Sydney would be at risk of losing funding if they don’t have strong representation from the community.
It was noted that even in the current system, councilors do not have to live in the ward they represent, and a majority of councilors votes are needed when deciding on new projects.
The next public meeting is scheduled for October 1st.