THUNDER BAY — Westfort ward councillor Kristen Oliver believes the City of Thunder Bay can operate with a smaller council.
Oliver proposes to cut perhaps four positions, creating a council of just nine members including the mayor.
But she's open to options, saying she has heard others suggest an 11-member council.
Oliver will ask her colleagues next week to ask administration to start a public consultation process with the aim of implementing the change in time for the 2022 municipal election.
However, she's not advocating downsizing to cut costs.
"I don't even know if we would save money, to be honest. We could be saving $120,000 a year [in council remuneration], or the community group might come back and say 'You're expanding the responsibility of councillors,' so maybe they'll look at increasing the pay. I don't know what that's going to look like," Oliver said.
Her rationale is that a smaller council can be more efficient.
"I think that when we have a tighter governance structure, it seems to be a little bit quicker. When we have 13 members of council that are constantly reaching out to administration, it's tying up a lot of their time too," she said.
Oliver feels the advancement of communications since the city was created in 1970 means citizens don't necessarily need to reach City Hall through a councillor anymore.
"We've created some great communication tools, and we have some opportunities to communicate in different ways. Representation is changing."
The first-term councillor said she's also heard from residents that it's time to right-size.
She has no preconceived ideas about the appropriate number of councillor-at-large and ward council positions, or whether the current hybrid system should even remain intact.
Those details, Oliver said, should be determined in close consultation with the voters.
She said she believes there's an appetite on council to consider changes, and expects that her motion will receive support at Monday night's meeting.
