As Mayor of the Township of King, a unique community of communities within York Region, I strongly disagree with Mayor Frank Scarpitti’s proposal that all the Region be amalgamated into one mega-city.
I’m disappointed that Mayor Scarpitti unilaterally made this proposal without consulting his colleagues. In fact, the Mayors of York Region are meeting tomorrow to discuss efficiencies in the Region making this proposal premature.
Amalgamating all the unique communities of York into one mega-city would take years and cost millions. Toronto’s experience has shown the complexity and challenges.
King is a unique community, with equally unique strengths and challenges. We are proud of our rural character, rich natural heritage, and agricultural roots. It’s clear that with so many diverse communities across York Region, there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution that can respect the local needs, character and values.
The most compelling case against any move to create a mega-city is our citizens.
Our recently completed citizen survey revealed that 95 per cent of King citizens say the quality of life in the Township of King is good to very good, 80 per cent are satisfied with the overall quality of municipal services and 82 per cent expressed satisfaction with the level of service received.
At the end of the day, this is a decision that rests with the Province. The Province has been very clear that it will assign facilitators in the near future to explore opportunities for efficiencies at the Regional level. We look forward to working through this process with the Province and our partner municipalities.
-30-
Media Contact
Township of King
Jason Ballantyne, Communications Officer
Township of King | Phone: 416-559-5093 | Email: jballantyne@king.ca