As Ontario begins another provincial election, the Township of Arran-Elderslie is already looking ahead at potential changes for its next election in 2026.
The Township will conduct community engagement next month to help determine whether it should maintain the current five-ward system, or move to one where councillors are elected at-large.
Clerks on Call, a municipal management consulting team, was brought on to run the community engagement and present their findings to council.
Consultant Michelle Casavecchia-Somers told council they'll do their best to collect as much feedback as possible, but ultimately the call will be up to them.
"I don't think that we've established what the minimum participation rate is to inform council," she said. "We try to solicit as much feedback as we can get and sometimes we get a lot of feedback and sometimes we don't, and so as a member of council you're tasked with making a decision with the information you're given."
Councillor Peter Steinacker questioned whether voting on this would be a conflict of interest, as the ward system was how they were all elected.
Consultant Michelle Smibert said this was ultimately council's call.
"The Municipal Act actually specifies that it's the current council that decides what's going to happen moving forward," she said. "I understand how there's that perceived conflict, but because the process to set out the structure, you actually have to pass a bylaw and it's only council that can pass that bylaw."
The first step is community engagement, which will run throughout February and feature surveys and open houses. Online surveys will be available throughout the month, and hard copies can be collected from municipal buildings throughout the Township.
A report with the findings will be brought back to council this spring.
Any changes must be made before the end of the year to be in effect for the 2026 municipal election.