Like a reoccurring fungal infection, the concept of an amalgamated Niagara City is once again being floated by Queen’s Park.
Past amalgamations such as Toronto and Ottawa have shown that smaller municipalities (with smaller voter bases) ultimately have little attention paid to their concerns even though they are the ones that universally suffer the most from this “bigger is better” fallacy.
So be prepared for the following:
Much higher taxation
Taxation is based on property values so in any amalgamation some communities end up paying significantly higher taxes. Proposed municipalities for us to “join” include Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and Welland. These cities are currently in our Niagara Regional structure today. Because these cities have drastically lower property values than Niagara-on-the-Lake the merging of tax bases (with any or all of the four) will result in a small reduction for those cities but much greater taxes for Niagara-on-the-Lake.
A good example is Fort Erie, where the 2016 median residential valuation was $191,500.
Compare that to house costs anywhere in NOTL, even back in 2016. (Note that all property assessments in Ontario are based on 2016 values.)
In any amalgamation NOTL’s much higher house price evaluations will distort what is supposed to be a “fair payer” system.
In 2023 a home in NOTL with an assessment of $800,000 (remember these are based on 2016 valuations) paid a total tax bill of $8,696. That same priced home in Fort Erie paid $12,950.00, in Niagara Falls $12,040 and in St. Catharines $13,109.
If NOTL, with a relatively small population, were to merge with these four (much larger) groups we should expect a municipal tax increase of approximately 46 per cent.
Go to niagararegion.ca/government/budget-taxes/prop-tax-calculator.aspx#breakdown for a simple calculator on 2023 rates.
No great savings by combining municipalities
Savings is the Holy Grail of all amalgamations. But like the Holy Grail it is searched for but never found. Think about it. A snowplow driver goes out and plows the same distance in a given time frame. Under a mega city the driver’s work remains the same with perhaps some very small savings on administration. A mega city will still have the same recreational facilities, parks and roads to maintain as today.
Remember that sewage/water, policing and garbage collection are currently all under the Region control so no savings can be had with these.
Planning functions can certainly be cut as there is duplication at the Region but there also will be significant costs in aligning all zoning and master plan bylaws into one. Expect many years before real dollars can be shaved.
The Ottawa and Toronto amalgamations have showed increased costs in combining labour contracts because of the push to get to the “high water” level. In those cases all employees wanted (and got) was the highest hourly rates in the amalgamated area for that position. If a junior planner was receiving $50K in a small municipality he/she (rightfully so) expected to be paid the $65K that a junior planner received in the other areas they were merging with. The same thing happened with employee benefits.
The expansion of services will also affect any claimed savings. Municipalities have differing levels of snow removal, street repair, fire services and recreation services. Expect the “high water” level to be the norm as no politician is going to cut services to existing residents nor be foolish enough to think differing levels of services can be established within the mega city.
Services you don’t want
NOTL is different from other municipalities in the Niagara region. It is uncomfortable for us to state this but we are wealthier. Yes there is poverty in NOTL but not near the levels seen in the other proposed merger cities. So resident demand for certain social issues like public housing, health care outreach, homeless support and subsidized recreational facilities are all examples of services we need little of but still will be provided. It is not that we should not be providing such in a new super city but we should recognize that some of these (new to us) services will be of little value.
Expect a full-time fire department. This of course will be a great debate whether it is a benefit or not. A 24-hour, fully-manned service will certainly be welcomed but many will see the volunteer service as wholly adequate, meeting our needs with a dedicated group of residents. And will we keep all our fire stations? Probably only one. And remember this increased standard will also add costs to the mega city.
Services you want but may not get
Should NOTL get the lovely flowers maintained along streets like Queen when Welland has none? Will planning protections to save Old Town or Queenston or St. Davids really matter to a councillor from the St. Catharines area? Will the new mega city recognize our high percentage of seniors and allocate additional recreational and social services to this area?
NOTL has unique tourist and historic preservation needs. We need constant municipal support for our wineries, our historic sites and tourist designations. If those areas of economic drivers decline because of lack of resources or neglect, the entire economic base of NOTL will be endangered. Can some mega city councillor from Fort Erie understand this, or even care? More than likely he/she will believe what is good for Fort Erie should be good for NOTL.
When you become the small fish in the big pond expect to eat the same as everyone else.
Little representation
Expect only one councillor for the entire NOTL area under any mega city format. The Ford government has shown no tolerance for large municipal councils, as Toronto’s revamp has shown. If the total mega city population is 350,000 expect just one seat for our 18,000 residents based on a maximum 20-member council. In a 10-member council, which is just as possible, we will amount to half a councillor.
Some residents will say they have never had reason to deal with politicians so what does representation matter, but that does not mean it is not extremely important to be represented fairly.
Take for example certain Old Town rezonings. In an amalgamated city one lone council member would be standing up for what really mattered to desires of NOTL residents while 19 others would perhaps be looking at it from a tax base benefit. That same lone councillor might not be heard when talking about a separate traffic study for Old Town or a special sewer bylaw rate for St. Davids. The vast majority of council may say “follow the guidelines” of the mega city as a whole.
Again this is uncomfortable but expect that some mega city councillors will see NOTL as a spoiled group of wealthy displaced Torontonians who should just adopt the same municipal service levels as St. Catharines and Welland. Don’t expect any desire to raise municipal standards to NOTL’s range but a great willingness to have NOTL conform to the larger group.
Currently there are many councillors that we can approach about a municipal problem. You may get ignored by one councillor, but if a problem is real, someone on our council will react. Now imagine if there is only one person that you can contact and that person doesn’t like you, or agree with you, or perhaps just doesn’t understand what you are trying to say?
Yes, we have only one representative for provincial and federal matters but municipal issues are different. They are always personal, always local and generally always immediate, when you need someone to listen quickly. That includes things such as snow removal, noise complaints, pot holes, bylaw enforcement and parking issues. It is important to have good, approachable local politicians.
What to do
Contact our lord mayor and council and let them know you are not supporting amalgamation: [email protected].
Contact the Honourable Paul Calandra, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs. [email protected].
Let him know you are happy with the current structure and why.
Contact the Premier of Ontario, correspondence.premier.gov.on.ca/EN/feedback/default.aspx. Let him know your feelings.
Contact Wayne Gates, your local MPP, at [email protected]. Yes he is in opposition but he can certainly be heard and the more who contact him, the greater his voice will be.
Paul Macdonell is a resident of Niagara-on-the-Lake. He was elected to four terms to Cumberland municipal council before it was amalgamated into the City of Ottawa. He is a graduate of the municipal affairs program at the University of Western Ontario and retired as a federal mediator resolving disputes with some of Canada’s largest private employers and their unions.
