Transcript Slide 1
Lesson 4: Your Municipality Municipalities in Ontario • Ontario is separated into 444 different communities called municipalities. • A municipality can be called a city, town, village, township, county or region. Powers and Responsibilities • Municipalities are given their powers and responsibilities by the provincial government. • Examples are: Roads and sidewalks, transportation systems/public transit, social housing, waste removal, community centres, and water and sewage. Key Features of Municipalities Municipalities share several main features: 1) A defined geographic area 2) The power to tax 3) An elected council Taxes • Property taxes is the main form of revenue (incoming money) for municipalities. If you own a property, you will pay a certain percentage of its value in taxes every year. • This money is used to pay for services that benefit the community such as police and the building and maintenance of roads, sidewalks and parks. Single-Tier or Two-Tier • Municipalities in Ontario are either part of a single-tier or two-tier system. • A single-tier municipality has one government and local council and it operates on its own. • A two-tier system involve two layers of government and two councils. – A lower-tier municipality has a local municipal council and government. – A upper-tier municipality has A regional council and government, and joins together two or more lower-tier municipalities. Local Council • A local municipal council (single-tier or upper-tier) is made up of a head of council, known as the mayor or reeve, and several council members, known as councillors or aldermen. • Heads of council are elected by all voters in the municipality. This is called a at-large system. • Council members can be elected either at-large or by a ward system of voting (where the municipality is broken down into sections). The Role of Council • Council members work together to govern the municipality and they take responsibility for its safety and future growth. • Council members talk about issues of concern with the people in their municipality. • These issues are then discussed with the whole council in order to make necessary changes (creating and amending by-laws). Final Thoughts • Do you like living in your municipality? Why? • Is there anything in your community that you would change or would like to improve? • Is your municipality run efficiently?