Centre Wellington Council removes Elora BIA board of management, citing 1992 bylaw

Despite pleas for collaboration, council for the Township of Centre Wellington Council rescinded the appointment of directors to the Elora Business Improvement Area (BIA) Board of Management.

At a township meeting on June 16, councillors were told there had been an error when the latest BIA board was installed.

In a report, township staff cited a bylaw from 1992 that states the BIA board can only have four members appointed by council, one of which must be a member of council.

The most recent iteration of the board included six members and Councillor Kim Jefferson.

In the past, other boards have also surpassed the membership permitted in the bylaw, but nothing was done to correct the issue.

“The record is clear, council has appointed more than three business members to the Elora BIA for well over a decade,” BIA member Catherine Daultrey said while delegating to council. “This isn’t an anomaly, it’s custom and convention. These were formal appointments by council, signed by the mayor and clerk. This board was not self-installed, it was appointed, approved and operating in line with past practice.”

The chair of the BIA, Erika Montero, said the oversized board was just one issue BIA members had uncovered, along with concerns about a previous lack of public meetings and general transparency.

“We did not create this situation, we inherited it,” Montero said. “Now, having worked to correct it, we are being punished for it.”

“This is not just an administrative reset, it’s a political move to silence a squeaky wheel and a board that believes in transparency, sustainability, a local voice and protecting the soul of this community,” Montero claimed.

The BIA members also requested council update the current bylaw to allow the BIA board to consist of more members.

Instead, council passed a bylaw to dissolve the board and appointed a new interim board consisting of Centre Wellington’s CAO Dan Wilson, Managing Director of Corporate Services and Treasurer Adam McNabb, Municipal Clerk Kerri O’Kane and Mayor Shawn Watters.

The newly passed bylaw stated the township will help the new interim board call an Annual General Meeting, potentially within the next few weeks, so a new board can be elected.

Wilson said members of the former board can run for re-election.

The township also said this is not an issue that is unique to the Elora BIA and staff will work with the Fergus BIA to bring them into compliance as well.