David Bailey, Mayor for the County of Brant, addressed a recent statement from his counterpart at the City of Brantford, saying “the County of Brant is unequivocally opposed to amalgamation.”
Kevin Davis, Mayor for the City of Brantford, said he would be using his strong mayor powers to initiate a fact-based study to assess the cost benefits of amalgamating with its neighbours during the City of Brantford’s Committee of the Whole, Planning and Administration meeting on Tuesday, December 10, 2024.
During a discussion about the City’s newly proposed economic development strategy, Davis said that he plans to have an outside consultant hired to ensure that the analysis is based on facts and not opinions.
“I’m going to direct staff to obtain a fact-based, unbiased assessment done by an outside consultant, economist or accountant, to really give us the facts,” said Davis.
He explained that while the two municipalities attempted to work together on shared interests such as transit through a joint services committee that was started in the fall of 2023, “the County of Brant slammed the door on us and said they had absolutely no interest in that.”
Now, in a statement released to the media, the County of Brant insists that Davis’ statements are incorrect and blatantly false.
“It is interesting that Mayor Davis states that such a discussion needs to be based on facts, as much of these statements he made are factually incorrect and/or blatantly false,” read the County’s release. “…The County of Brant and the City of Brantford have a history of successful partnerships including, but not limited to Social Services, Paramedics, and numerous economic development initiatives.”
Speaking to the City’s suggestion for a new joint services committee, the County said that, at the time, the City stated that there was no intention of land acquisition or amalgamation.
“This committee was struck in the latter half of 2023 and a short list of potential topics was made,” said the municipality. “One of the first motions which was brought forward from the City, included expropriating land from the County to assist the City with their transportation problems; starkly in contrast with the statement made just months earlier.”
Feeling that the format and tone of the new committee was not the most efficient way to accomplish the municipalities’ respective goals, the County of Brant said it would prefer “the matters to be explored through topic specific ad-hoc staff working groups.”
“This has in fact happened and is working. As just one example, a new proposal to expand public transit across boundaries is being brought forward to respective Councils. This has been worked on by staff throughout 2024. Staff groups regularly meet on traffic and infrastructure projects to explore opportunities for collaboration and efficiency. All of those are ultimately decided upon by each Council,” read the County’s statement. “To say that the City was rebuffed by the County when it comes to Joint Services is categorically false. We in fact, simply proposed a format outside the political committee, which is a proven model that has been used in the past. Further, this is happening, is working, and has produced results. What has not happened, is transfer of more land to the City, which we have always been clear, is off the table. Because the City did not get what they wanted (land), out of the committee structure, does not translate into the County being uncooperative.”
Noting that any joint services or initiatives should accomplish three goals: common interest, mutual benefit and cost effectiveness, the County said that not every problem the City wants to address is the responsibility of the County to solve.
“When an issue does meet all these criteria, we are absolutely at the table to explore. Moreover, meaningful partnerships are moored in mutual respect, civility and equity,” read the County’s statement. “The general tone of the meetings that the County was met with did not reflect these values from the City. The County will not be strong-armed into initiatives simply because the City wants them.”
David Bailey, Mayor for the County of Brant, said the County will not bend to Davis’ will.
“I am tired of the continual attempts by Mayor Davis to bully the County into bending to his will. Because we have refused a request to give them something, does not mean they can just come along and take it,” said Bailey. “We have our challenges and problems like any community, but all the wonderful aspects of the County to be celebrated far outshine those issues. We will not allow the City to continually impose their negativity on us.”
Overall, the County said it will remain open to fair and transparent dialogue with the City, but that amalgamation is a serious and complex undertaking that shouldn’t be done without a willing partner or meaningful discussion.
“Without a willing partner, and facts, the City’s desire to take over the County is not a matter of meaningful discussion,” read the statement. “The County respectfully suggests that rather than spending taxpayer money on creating a business case to take over its neighbour, the City could focus on truly making the region more successful by investing in the existing shared services, which need attention.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
