If everything could be done by the upper tier (County), whats the point of two-tier government?
Ask the folks in Haliburton or Peterborough: flexibility! Immediately prior to amalgamation, a “who does what” study reviewed more than 50 services; the majority were allocated to the lower tier. In fact, the 16 municipalities of Victoria County had control over 52% of the total municipal levy (excluding education). Because we are now just one municipality, there is only one general tax rate for the entire City of Kawartha Lakes. Services and taxes are levelled up. With de-amalgamation, each municipality can again tailor services to its taxpayers wishes, and set its own general tax rate accordingly. Whats the process? Both Chris Hodgson, when he was Minister of Municipal Affairs, and the present Minister, David Young, have outlined the process that would follow a “Yes” vote to de-amalgamate. At the Nov. 12, 2002 meeting of Council, when he requested the referendum, Mr. Hodgson explained that if the referendum vote is Yes, the councillors you elect this November 10th will be an interim
