The Ontario Municipal Board will start the process of determining whether or not Hastings Highlands Council had the right to change how residents vote.
A two-day OMB hearing is set to start tomorrow. It was originally set for early October, but was rescheduled after the OMB determined residents weren’t given enough notice.
Tomorrow’s hearing will focus on whether or not Hastings Highlands Council had the right to introduce municipality-wide elections, in turn doing away with the three-ward system. The decision was made because some residents had put forward a petition claiming the ward set-up did not provide fair representation in council. Despite having half the amount of eligible voters as the Herschel Ward, the Monteagle Ward had the same number of councillors.
Other residents appealed the decision to the OMB, claiming municipality-wide elections won’t provide enough representation to everyone in Hastings Highlands.
Both sides will make their case to the OMB, before a decision is made as to if the municipality had the right to change the way residents vote. The hearing will start at 10:30am tomorrow in Emond Hall at the Hastings Highlands Centre in Maynooth. An evening session will also be held tomorrow night at 7:00pm.
If the OMB doesn’t make a decision before the end of the year, Hastings Highlands will have to stick with the current ward system during the next municipal election.