LONDON, ONT. -- For the first time in almost eight years, leaders from the City of London and Middlesex County held a joint meeting to discuss a long list of simmering issues.
The two local governments have many areas of shared responsibility, including public housing, the health unit and ambulance service.
The first discussion during the online meeting - between a small number of city politicians and administrators with their counterparts from the county - how to meet more frequently.
“To establish more regular meetings, and by that we mean more often than every eight years,” joked London Mayor Ed Holder.
According to a Memorandum of Understanding, the committee is supposed to meet at least once a year.
It’s objective is to share information. Any decisions must be approved by both councils.
Maybe not surprisingly, most of the issues on the agenda were rooted in a need for better communication about decisions that affect both governments.
London’s decision last September to oust the board of directors at London Middlesex Community Housing left county politicians with questions.
“What was the decision-making behind the governance change?” asked Middlesex County Warden Cathy Burghardt-Jesson. “And how were the impacts to Middlesex County brought into that?”
Similarly, the significant budget increase at Middlesex-London EMS has left city councillors seeking a more detailed explanation.
“What might make sense for us to do, is take the ambulance discussion to a dedicated meeting of this committee,” suggested London Councillor Stephen Turner.
In the end, both issues will be addresses at future meetings after staff prepare background reports.
The next meeting, focused on the ambulance budget, will be held in June 2020.
