c) Warden's Letter to Minister of Municipal Affairs re City Boundary Adjustment Proposal - December 1999

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Corporation of the County of Essex December 1st, 1999 The Honourable Tony Clement Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing 777 Bay Street, 17th Floor Toronto, Ontario M5G 2E5 Dear Honourable Mimster Clement: This letter is being written in response to correspondence dated September 20, 1999, received by me, as the Warden for the County of Essex, from the Honourable J. S. (Steve) Gilchrist as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The Minister's letter enclosed correspondence, dated August 18, 1999, addressed to him from Michael D. Hurst, Mayor of the City of Windsor, which provides a "conceptual boundary adjustment" for the City and the County. The Minister has requested that the County review the material provided by the Mayor and respond. I am instructed by resolution of County Council to deliver this letter to you as the County's response. 1.0 - Historical Background Bill 26 amended the Municipal Act to address the issue of municipal restructuring and was proclaimed in force on Janumy 30, 1996. Through this legislation, the provincial govemment confirmed its policy that, and established the means by which, municipal government was to be restructured. Since the coming into force of this legislation several attempts have been made by which the County and the City could come to a common understanding of how local government should be organized in our part of the Province. The City has made various demands for an expansion to its boundaries and beginning on June 30, 1997, has consistently sought to have these issues determined through the appointment of a commissioner as provided for by Bill 26. In the absence of agreement with the City, the County of Essex continued with its own restructuring initiatives. Commencing in January, and continuing throughout 1996, a committee of Council, the Future Government Committee, had co-ordinated and managed an examination of the issues related to municipal restructuring. This included, among other things, research and analysis of data from the upper tier and lower tier mumcipalities regarding the delivery of services, existing sharing arrangements and other common interests. Ultimately this resulted in the development of several restructuring options. An economic consulting firm, C. N. Watson and Associates Ltd., was retained to study the financial implications of restructuring and to recommend a preferred option. Each of the options presented 360 Fairview Avenue West, Essex, Ontario N8M 1Y6 - 776-6441 FAX # (519) 776-4455