Effects of municipal amalgamations

[Erik]

Anybody have any info on Municipal amalgamations?

What are some conclusion when it comes to its effects on urban planning?

Toronto, Ottawa and now Montreal and Hull are being forced into mergers by their respective provincial governments.

More to the point, as a city planner, will this have any positive effect on my salary and job opportunities?

Thanks.

 

[Tranplanner]

Hey, don't forget Sudbury! (oh and Hamilton too)

I think the job prospects depend a lot status in the pecking order - the higher you are, the more competition you have. The pleebs are (usually) always needed. In Sudbury, all the planners were "deemed" into their jobs for the new municipality(meaning they did not have to compete for their jobs) - but planning was already one tier up there.

As for salary - I don't really know. In Toronto, planners in the old municipalities of Scarborough, North York, etc. are hoping to get paid at the old City of Toronto rate, which in some cases was substantially more. I don't think they've figured it all out yet, and it has basically been three years since the merger!

I think it all depends on what municipality you're working for...there aren't any prospects in Sudbury, but in more forward-thinking places like Ottawa, planning will likely expand.