Could there be a question added to this year’s municipal election ballot?

Windsor council talking about putting a referendum question on the ballot for the next municipal election

With the municipal election coming up in a few months, some information handed to council Monday spells out how a city-wide question could appear on the ballot, if so desired.

The report says ballot questions must be yes-or-no, legally neutral, and approved well in advance.

It also warns that for a result to be binding, at least 50 per cent of eligible voters would have to turn out — something Windsor rarely sees.

No question is on the table — this is about process only.

“And so, you could take a question, just pulling one out of thin air, ‘Do you support strengthening the core in downtown Windsor?’ Say we were looking at implementing a program like that. You could ask the community if they support that and then get their opinion at the ballot,” explained Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.

“In my time on city council in 20 years, I’ve never seen council put forward a question on the ballot. There’s just a process to do it. And we’re sort of alert that, if you want to do it, the timeline is coming,” said Dilkens.