LONDON, ONT. -- A push for fewer politicians at city hall has reignited the long-standing debate about turning the role of city councillor into a full time job.

Next week council will consider a recommendation from its Corporate Services Committee to update ward boundaries to more evenly distribute population, including a potential reduction from 14 wards to ten.

“To me, the full-time/part-time discussion is part of that as well,” says Councillor Shawn Lewis. “Do you want a full time council London that is actually going to respond to you?”

Lewis already treats city council as his full-time job.

He says because of that, he receives calls from constituents in other wards who are dissatisfied with the responsiveness of their part-time councillors.

He adds a smaller council would need full time politicians to adequately serve larger wards.

“Respectfully to those councillors who say ‘I have a full time job’,” Lewis adds, “If you want to be a councillor and believe in public service, that should be your primary focus.”

Councillor Phil Squire, a lawyer who represents Ward 6, suggests another motive is behind the political push to become full-time.

“They want to see a situation where they have an opportunity to make more money, quite frankly,” Squire asserts. “I do not see a difference in the work production of full-time councillors and part-time councillors.”

But Lewis says reducing the number of councillors by 30 percent would offset the cost of paying them for full time hours.

On March 1, Councillor Jesse Helmer announces he will not seek re-election on 2022.

Councillor Helmer hopes to create an opportunity in Ward 4 for a woman or woman of colour.

After his announcement he told CTV News, “I think we need the same number of people or potentially more people making those decisions. I think that’s what we should be talking about, not shrinking it.”

Squire believes incumbents have an advantage being re-elected to a smaller council— impeding the drive for greater diversity.

“More power would be concentrated in fewer people,” he warns. “And people trying to break into politics, they would have a lesser opportunity.”

Lewis says the larger council in Ottawa, and smaller council in Edmonton have achieved no greater level of diversity than currently exists in London.

“Council size does not decide diversity. The voters decide the diversity of council,” he adds.

The last significant shake-up to municipal government in London came in 2010 with the abolishment of Board of Control, and a switch to 14 wards with a single councillor representing each.

If Council requests a ward boundary review including options to change the size of council, public input meetings would have to be held before a final decision is made for the 2022 election.