The following is included in the latest email update from Dave Gittings and Janet Haslett-Theall
"As your municipal representatives, we have received an incredible amount of feedback from residents concerned by the provincial government considering plans to amalgamate Oakville, Milton, Burlington & Halton Hills into the city of Halton. We are sharing the message below in an effort to provide information and to allow you to have your voices heard."
In January, the Provincial government announced a review of Regional Governments, including Halton's, hoping to find efficiencies in Amalgamation. A group of community leaders from the Town's Residents Associations have formed a group to fight any plan to amalgamate Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Halton Hills into the City of Halton. We just cannot afford Regional Amalgamation - financially we cannot afford the cost, nor can we afford to lose our voice.
History has shown that amalgamation does not result in the efficiencies that were forecast. See the Fraser Report of May 2015 (Municipal Amalgamation in Ontario by Lydia Miljan and Zachary Spicer). The Province argues that it has been 50 years since regional governance has been reviewed. This just isn't accurate. In the Halton Region, the structure has been reviewed on an ongoing basis and efficiencies have been identified and implemented. Our current structure seems to work fine - all four Towns are happy with the status quo. (Read Regional Chair Gary Carr's letter to the Minister.) We don't believe that the residents of our Town are interested in paying more in property taxes, in receiving less service or in losing our voice. If minor efficiencies can be identified in the current structure, we are happy to consider them, within the context of the current Municipal structure. But we think we already have strong, effective representation in our current Regional model. We love Oakville and are proud of the character and feel of our community.
If you feel as we do, please support our campaign. See our website weloveoakville.org and be sure to Like and Follow our social media WeLoveOakville on Facebook We have also started a Go Fund Me Page to get a campaign started. Go Fund Me - We Love Oakville
Read the full Councillor eMail Update here