City hopes to cap council size

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD

andy.blatchford@transcontinental.ca

With tax hikes, speeding concerns on local roads and public consultations for its 2007 budget, Beaconsfield’s council chamber was often a crowded place last year.

To ensure attendance doesn’t go up — at least on council’s side of the room — the city passed a resolution last week to request it keep its six electoral districts from being split into eight.

On Jan. 1, Beaconsfield’s population registered above 20,000, up from about 19,900 during the November 2005 election, according to Quebec’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs.

Cities with more than 20,000 residents must elect eight councillors, according to Quebec law.

Mayor Bob Benedetti said the added councillors would be an unnecessary cost since Beaconsfield’s population is near capacity. With little room to build new residences in the city, he estimates it will top off at 21,500 citizens in the next few years.

“We don’t need eight people, six is a good size,” he said. “It allows for lots of different ideas but not enough to make it difficult.

“We just think eight councillors is overkill for a city of 21,000 people.”

The exemption request was forwarded to Municipal Affairs Minister Nathalie Normandeau, who will decide on the file.

If Normandeau does not accept Beaconsfield’s demand, the new electoral divisions must be delineated by January 2008, according to ministry spokesperson Marie-Josée Dionne.

The city’s next municipal election is scheduled for November 2009.