By: Pam Wright, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Chatham Voice
In a narrow 9-8 vote, council decided to press pause on a recommendation to dissolve the Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission and reinvent it as a new municipal department.
The decision came at the Dec. 15 council meeting, following a presentation by KPMG. Commissioned by council in 2024 to study the PUC’s governance, the consulting firm made the recommendation following an analysis of operations. The study came up with three options: maintaining the status quo, creating a separate municipal service corporation, or bringing the PUC under Chatham-Kent council’s purview.
Wallaceburg Coun. Carmen McGregor, PUC board chair, said more time was needed to digest the large volume of information contained in the report. She brought forward a lengthy motion asking staff to clarify points and investigate water and wastewater governance in other municipalities.
“At the end of the day, we are the ones who are going to be responsible,” McGregor told council, noting she’s concerned about costs and how the change would impact taxpayers.
“Before moving forward, it’s important that council fully understands the range of governance models used across the province for water and wastewater utilities, as well as the true and complete costs associated with such a change,” McGregor said.
Chatham Coun. Alysson Storey said she supported the deferral due to the significance of the proposal, stressing she wanted to make it clear to the public the proposed changes are about governance, not cost savings.
In response, CAO Michael Duben said creating a new division will help Chatham-Kent achieve its goals, as forecasts indicate Chatham-Kent will need a $1.18-billion investment over the next 10 years due to rapid residential growth and greenhouse demand.
“We feel that if we have the most efficient model, we’ll be able to accomplish that,” Duben said, explaining there’s “overlap” in municipal departments.
“We are confident we will have more alignment with municipal priorities if we move towards this model,” he told council.
As the vote proved, some councillors disagreed with the postponement.
“I don’t think this will change our decision,” said West Kent’s Lauren Anderson. Anderson, a member of the PUC board, said a new report will require additional resources to “come to the same decision.”
South Kent Coun. Ryan Doyle echoed Anderson. He said council will likely come to the “same conclusion.”
Chief Financial Officer Gord Quinton emphasized that the importance of working together strategically would pay off.
“Looking far into the future, we expect to save millions and millions of taxpayer and ratepayer dollars,” Quinton said.
According to the report, dissolving the PUC would eliminate duplication of services, improve communication and allow Chatham-Kent to improve planning for future growth in water and wastewater infrastructure.
Council also learned the PUC needs to hire additional staff to the tune of $2.2 million – regardless of what direction council takes.
Councillors heard it would take at least 12 months to dismantle the current PUC and create the new water and wastewater division.
Chatham-Kent’s executive management team and other officials – including CKPUC general manager Darren Galbraith – are on board with KPMG’s recommendation and provided input on the KPMG study.
“I see a lot of benefits of going the municipal department route because there will be more collaboration,” Galbraith said, adding that’s been his prerogative since becoming the PUC’s general manager in 2024.
The KPMG analysis is the first governance review undertaken since amalgamation in 1998. The firm is also recommending council adopt a Skills-Based Advisory Committee for the new department to advise council. That committee would be comprised of technical, financial and sector-specific experts who would meet on a quarterly basis.
A public meeting on the matter will be held in January, followed by a special council meeting Feb. 2.
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