Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 6-4-2013 12:00 AM Regional Organization and the Dynamics of Inter-Municipal Cooperation Zachary Spicer The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Andrew Sancton The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Political Science A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Zachary Spicer 2013 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Political Science Commons, Public Administration Commons, Public Policy Commons, and the Urban Studies Commons Recommended Citation Spicer, Zachary, "Regional Organization and the Dynamics of Inter-Municipal Cooperation" (2013). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 1312. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/1312 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. REGIONAL ORGANIZATION AND THE DYNAMICS OF INTER-MUNICIPAL COOPERATION: POLICY COORDINATION BETWEEN ONTARIO’S SEPARATED CITIES AND COUNTIES (Thesis Format: Monograph) by Zachary Devon Spicer Graduate Program in Political Science Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Zachary Spicer 2013 i Abstract This thesis examines the institution of city-county separation in Ontario. City- county separation was the original form of municipal organization in the province, introduced as a method of distinguishing between urban and rural areas by politically separating one from the other. Over time, this practice lost ground to institutions such as regional government, which sought to connect urban and rural areas. Despite this institutional shift, 18 cities and towns in Ontario remain separated from their counties, establishing a situation where some of the province’s most populous communities lack institutional linkages to their surrounding rural municipalities. Exploring four different thematic areas – planning, border expansion, social service delivery and agreement formation – this thesis finds that separated cities and counties are not forming cooperative agreements at expected rates. This is largely attributed to the nature of rural and urban life: there are few common servicing demands and, as such, cooperation is not a natural phenomenon. Additionally, this thesis finds that growth is threatening the continued viability of city-county separation. The municipalities in some counties across the province are content to remain rural and are adhering to the original logic of city-county separation; the county remains rural and directs development toward the urban separated city. However, in many other counties, the once-rural areas around separated cities are experiencing high rates of growth and are actively attempting to attract development. The original bargain behind city-county separation is breaking down in these areas. Provincial officials, who have extended the usable life span of city- county separation as an institution in many urban areas by allowing continuous rounds of outward expansion, may need to re-examine the organizational design of these areas and consider alternative institutions that would better link urban and growing suburban areas. Keywords : City-County Separation, Institutional Collective Action, Inter-Local Agreements; Ontario, Urban, Rural ii Acknowledgements This thesis would not have seen completion without the help of many people. First, I am grateful for the supervision and mentorship of Dr. Andrew Sancton. His guidance has been invaluable throughout this process. Secondly, I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Robert Young and Dr. Martin Horak, for being so generous with their time and knowledge. Additionally, I would also like to thank my internal and external examiners – Dr. Katherine Graham, Dr. Godwin Arku and Dr. Timothy Cobban - for their time and comments. I would also like to extend my thanks to Dr. Christopher Alcantara, Dr. Loren King, Dr. Andrea Perrella, Dr. Brian Tanguay, and Dr. Debora VanNijnatten for their continued support over the years. My thanks also goes to the numerous municipal employees who helped me build my database of agreements and various other documents. They were incredibly generous with their time and resources. I would also like to thank those who sat down with me for interviews. It would have been impossible to complete this project without their input. Most of all, I would like to thank my mother Heather Allen and my wife Sarah for their constant support and encouragement. None of this would have been possible without them. iii Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………...ii Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………iii Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………........iv List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………..vi List of Images…………………………………………………………………………....vii List of Charts……………………………………………………………………………viii List of Figures………………………………………………………………………….....ix Chapter 1: Introduction……………………………………………………………………1 1.1 Study Framework……………………………………………………………….....5 1.2 Case Studies and Methodology…………………………………………………..11 1.3 Thesis Organization……………………………………………………………...15 Chapter 2: Municipal Organization in Ontario………………………………………….20 2.1 Early Institutional Organization………………………………………....……...21 2.2 The Baldwin Act and Beyond: The Introduction of City-County Separation…..26 2.3 The Creation of Metropolitan Toronto………………………………………….38 2.4 The Creation of Regional Government in Ontario……………………………...43 2.5 The County Reform Era…………………………………………………...……54 2.6 The Era of Amalgamation…………………………………………………...….67 2.7 Summary: The Current State of Ontario’s Municipal Organization………...….73 Chapter 3: Regionalism – New and Old…………………………………………………77 3.1 Old Regionalism and the Reform Perspective…………………………………..80 3.2 Public Choice and Fragmentation……………………………………………….84 3.3 New Regionalism: Governance Versus Government…………………………...88 3.4 The Mechanics of Regionalism: Institutional Collective Action………………..93 3.5 The Limits of the ICA Framework…………………………………………….101 3.6 Summary……………………………………………………………………….105 Chapter 4: Border Issues and Expansion……………………………………………….106 4.1 Boundary Expansion in Regional Government………………………………..107 4.2 Boundary Expansion in London……………………………………………….110 4.3 Boundary Expansion in Barrie…………………………………………………112 4.4 Boundary Expansion in Guelph………………………………………………..124 4.5 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..136 Chapter 5: Planning…………………………………………………………………….141 5.1 Growth and Change in the London Area………………………………………143 5.2 Central Planning Board in Elgin-St. Thomas………………………………….160 5.3 The Impact of Provincial Growth Initiatives in Simcoe County………………166 5.4 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..175 Chapter 6: Consolidated Municipal Service Managers………………………………...179 iv 6.1 The CMSM Process in Ontario………………………………………………..181 6.2 The Financial Impact of the CMSM…………………………………………...190 6.3 The CMSM Process in Guelph, London and Barrie/Orillia…………………...194 6.4 The Impact on Cooperation……………………………………………………208 6.5 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..215 Chapter 7: Formal Agreements…………………………………………………………219 7.1 Review of Adaptive and Restrictive Agreements……………………………...220 7.2 Survey of Inter-Local Agreements……………………………………………..226 7.3 Inter-Local Agreements and the Cooperative Process………………………....240 7.4 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..249 Chapter 8: Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..253 8.1 Cooperation Between Separated Cities and Counties………………………….255 8.2 City/County Separation as an Enduring Institution……………………………260 8.3 Review of ICA Framework…………………………………………………….266 8.4 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..269 References…………………………………………………..…………………………..273 Appendix A……………………………………………………………………………..288 Appendix B……………………………………………………………………………..290 Appendix C……………………………………………………………………………..295 Appendix D………………………………………………………………………….….320 Appendix E……………………………………………………………………………..323 Vita……………………………………………………………………………………...324 v List of Tables Table 2.1: City-County Separation History…………………………………………….32 Table 2.2: Implementation of Regional Government in Ontario……………………....51 Table 2.3: Municipalities in Counties with Separated Cities…………………….…….72 Table 3.1: Regional Governance Approaches – Walker’s Classification……………...90 Table 3.2: Factors Identified as Influencing Cooperation……………………………...99 Table 3.3: Transaction Costs………………………………………………………….101 Table 5.1: Comparative Population Figures for London and Middlesex County….…157 Table 5.2: Summary of Population Distribution Under Places to Grow Plan….…….169 Table 6.1: Summary of Core CMSM Cost-Sharing…………………………………..183 Table 6.2: Comparative CMSM Arbitration Decisions……………………………….185 Table 6.3: Summary of Cost Sharing Requested By Region………………………....187 Table 7.1: Summary of Agreements by Region………………………………………226 Table 7.2: Total Agreements by City…………………………………………………228 Table 7.3: Summary of Agreement Types by Region………………………………...230 Table 7.4: Summary of Agreement Components……………………………………..237 vi List of Images Image 4.1: Boundaries of Barrie-Innisfil Boundary Adjustment……………………....114 Image 5.1: Settlement Areas Within Middlesex Centre………………………………..148 Image 5.2: Places to Grow Map………………………………………………………..168 vii List of