Amalgamation on mayors’ luncheon menu

An issue that may be hard for some to stomach, amalgamation was on the menu at the Southern Tier Mayor’s Luncheon.

“It might be a dirty word for some people, but we have to put everything on the table,” Port Colborne Mayor Bill Steele said Wednesday at the event regularly hosted by area chambers of commerce.

“We can’t continue to be afraid to talk about amalgamation.”

Whether that means reducing the number of politicians in Niagara or merging all fire departments across the region, Steele said the conversation must include all options.

Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop argued that reducing the number of politicians won’t solve Niagara’s governance problems.

But, after speaking to provincial representatives tasked to review how municipal governments operate, Redekop said that seems to be the exact goal of the province.

“They want to know how to reduce the number of elected officials,” said Redekop., adding, “You’re not going to save a lot of money there.”

Pelham Mayor Marvin Junkin said amalgamating some services would make Niagara stronger.

“We need to go to one local transit operator,” said Junkin.

“That’s what’s holding this region back. We need to get people to where the jobs are within the region, and the only way to do that is with an effective, integrated transit system.”

Thorold Mayor Terry Ugulini took a down-the-middle approach to amalgamation, saying there are arguments to be made on both sides, and it’s better to be a participant in the process rather than have a decision foisted upon the region.

“We’re not going to be hiding our heads in the sand on this,” said Ugulini, who advocated for keeping a two-tier governance model for Niagara.

“We do have to focus on delivering cost savings because there’s only one taxpayer, and that means reviewing the size of our governing bodies.”

In Wainfleet, its mayor, Kevin Gibson, said there seems to be little appetite to get swallowed up into a unified, single city of Niagara.

“Our priority is to keep Wainfleet as Wainfleet. There’s a sense of pride there, and the thought of losing Wainfleet as a town is huge to us.”

Not in attendance Wednesday was Welland Mayor Frank Campion and Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati.