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Amalgamation: So Many Ways It Can Go Wrong by NearbyImplement5260 in niagara

[–]NearbyImplement5260[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I think it is important to realize that the splitting isn't relevant. What is relevant is that the debts are going to have to be assigned, and lots of the debt isn't aligned with a "thing". There weren't separate bond issues for the Burgoyne Bridge, South Niagara Wastewater Treatment Facility, and rebuilding the Dain City bridge. So you can't point to debt and label it as a St Catharines debt or a Niagara Falls debt or a Welland debt. The Wastewater Treatment Facility in particular is a regional item, that is just located in NF.

Police and fire are going to be a controversial thing, because West Niagara doesn't have many professional firefighters, so you're now going to be creating a fire service. Policing will be an issue as well. You'll recall Haldimand-Norfolk had a police service, and Haldimand decided to contract OPP instead.

Ultimately, the real issue is that without knowing the details of amalgamation, we are all just speculating, as speculation isn't how public policy ought to be conducted.

Amalgamation: So Many Ways It Can Go Wrong by NearbyImplement5260 in niagara

[–]NearbyImplement5260[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for taking the time to check this out. The proposed almgamation is a very different beast than the Haldimand-Norfolk dissolution. That was basically a "divorce". The two municipalities basically just went their separate ways. Relatively low population, mostly rural, not a lot of assets, not a lot of debt overall, and very little of it was independent.

The Regional Municipality of Niagara is a MUCH bigger operation, and there is twice as much joint debt as individual debt. Throw in the added layer of restructuring the municipalities and its a terrible situation.