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There was concern iniâ€" tially about the increased workload, but Waterloo‘s rookie council has especialâ€" ly felt the strain in the last year, according to local councillors _ likeâ€" Gary Kieswetter and Mark Whaâ€" ley. They‘ve dealt with a number of big issues of increasing complexity like RIM Park, and the fallout out from its financing scanâ€" dal, to the ongoing student accommodation debate. Changing the boundaries could also change the comâ€" position of council, said Lindt. "Personally, I‘d like the boundaries to change so that we could change the composition of council to be more reflective of the entire population," said Lindt. "Whether that‘s possiâ€" Continued from page 1 At one time council had tive ward councillors, and three counciliors attarge who also served on Waterloo regional council. But that all changed under the Mike Harris govâ€" ernment, and his push to cut the number of politiâ€" cians before the 2000 elecâ€" tion. "So unless what we‘re saying about our councillors is that you got elected and we don‘t care how much this is killing you, you‘ve got to think of a better system." Public wants council size evaluated Monâ€"Thurs 8:30 â€" 5:30; Fri. 8:30 â€" 8:00; Sat. 9:00 â€" 5:00 30O"ANNIVERSARY SALE x MaAnXNyYy INâ€"STORE SPECIALIS x Chatelaine Lighting‘s 50% ©75% off Chatelaine Lighting _ 54 Victoria Rd. S. "I‘m not suggesting a stuâ€" dent councillior â€" I don‘t know the legality of that â€" Anthony Piscitelli, the viceâ€"president of university affairs, made his own preâ€" sentation to council last year, looking at how the boundaries were drawn and how it "marginalizes" the more than 30,000 students who attend school in Waterâ€" loo. "I‘m pleased to hear they‘re moving forward with the review that they‘re talkâ€" ing about," said Piscitelli. "I‘m hoping they do some community consultation because I would like to see some of the proposals that they go forward with." The way the ward system is set up, low voter turnout among students is comâ€" pounded by the way they are split up by four different wards. "It provides a structural incentive for city councillors to second guess student concerns," said Piscitelli. ble or not, 1 have no idea." Currently there are no women and no visible tminorities sitting on counâ€" cil "We should at least raise the issue and if the public decides they don‘t know, don‘t care, and don‘t want change, that‘s the concluâ€" sion," said Lindt. One group supporting a review is the students‘ union at Wiltrid Launier University. 8$24â€"0401 Fleming said he recogâ€" nizes it‘s the nature of the beast that elected politiâ€" cians will sit on as many committees as possible to increase their visibility. "I‘ve been working with some people and talking to others ever since presenting the idea of fullâ€"time councilâ€" lors at council," said Flemâ€" ing. "I see the need, but I‘m not sure of the way to fulfill the need of increasing counâ€" cil‘s time, attention and energy level." "Maybe they won‘t vote still, but you should at least give them a fair opportuniâ€" For Robert Fleming of Waterloo Watch, with issues facing council getting more complicated every year, having an extra set of eyes couldn‘t hurt. His group made the proâ€" posal of expanding the number of councillors, and he‘s in support of a public process looking into it. but at least you give the stuâ€" dents a fair shot at electing someone. But he wonders, at what The bottom line is that it has to benefit the community as a whole..." Robert Fleming Waterloo Watch "And we‘ve certainly seen the very devastating ramifiâ€" cations of decision making under those conditions. When you weigh out the costs of that outcome against the costs of some expansion of council‘s faciliâ€" ty. I think we really must consider it seriously." City clerk Fred Dobbs is preparing a report for counâ€" cil for March 21 about the process of reviewing current council structure. A decision could be made by as early as June. There will also be diffiâ€" cultues in redrawing boundâ€" aries and breaking up comâ€" munities of interest that already exist, in addition to adding more voices to the debate over adjusting counâ€" cil size. "The bottom line is that it has to benefit the commuâ€" nity as a whole, otherwise it‘s not worth implementing and not worth the added cost," said Fleming. "It‘s not necessarily the quantity of eyes that‘s important. "Waterloo‘s council right now is having to make a lot of decisions in a constrained amount of time... there‘s a lot of things on the table. Sso maybe limiting their obligations is one way to solve the problem. point is this detrimental to their ability to make good decisions for the city? Be in over 32,000 homes every week of the year. Advertise in the Waterloo Chronicle â€" 886â€"2830