By: Pam Wright, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Chatham Voice
A move to bring the Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission (PUC) into the municipal fold has fallen short.
At least for now.
As the result of an 8-8 tie vote, a multi-pronged motion to dissolve the PUC and bring it under the governance of the Municipality of Chatham-Kent as a separate department was defeated. It means the PUC will continue to oversee C-K’s water and wastewater services.
The decision was reached at a special Feb. 2 council meeting, held to decide how the PUC should be governed in the future. C-K administration, as well as PUC general manager Darren Galbraith, were in support of the governance change.
Wallaceburg Coun. Carmen McGregor, current chair of the PUC board, said she couldn’t get behind the recommended change due to a lack of information, particularly around finances.
“If I as the chair, don’t feel comfortable that I have been provided enough information,” McGregor said in her comments. “If I’m not feeling comfortable, I don’t know how the rest of you are feeling comfortable. In my position, I feel responsible and I don’t feel I have enough information.”
McGregor pointed out her stance isn’t for political gain as she is not running for council in 2026.
Chatham Coun. Alysson Storey told council she was on the same page as McGregor, saying the information provided to council lacked detail.
“I felt that we have not received a lot of the information that we had asked for,” Storey said. “We received a lot of high-level information but nothing really that detailed.”
Other changes proposed in the motion were discussed. The fact that the PUC needs more staff to do necessary work – regardless of the governance model – was examined. In a 12-4 vote, council sent the staffing issue back to the PUC.
It’s estimated that 11 new employees are needed to complete ongoing work at a cost of $2.2 million – regardless of the governance model.
The creation of a special PUC advisory board to assist council with decision making, was also discussed, but no clear consensus was reached on what that body would look like or how it would conduct its work.
In speaking to the motion, West Kent Coun. Lauren Anderson, who also sits on the PUC board, said that while she respects McGregor, she disagreed with her position.
“This is one of the biggest decisions we’re ever going to make,” Anderson stressed, adding she supports bringing the PUC under the municipality’s umbrella. “I don’t think this decision weighs heavily on the taxpayer.”
Mayor Darrin Canniff also chimed in, saying he supported the governance change, stating experts on the special advisory committee would offer support to council in the decision-making process.
Throughout the meeting, officials pointed out the governance change would not impact ratepayers. However, the change would see the transfer of billions of dollars’ worth of property and infrastructure to the municipality.
The recommendation to change the PUC’s governance comes on the heels of a two-year process. In 2024, consulting firm KPMG was commissioned to examine the water and wastewater governance issue. The resulting report recommended the change, saying it would simplify decision making and oversight.
The KPMG report came to council last December, which led to McGregor asking for a special meeting before adopting the recommendations.
Early in 2025, a separate review by Municipal VU Consulting for the PUC’s water and wastewater master plan stated the organizational relationship between the municipality and the PUC inhibited co-ordinated decision making.
According to administration, forecasts indicate Chatham-Kent’s water infrastructure needs some $1.18 billion in investment over the next 10 years to meet residential growth and greenhouse demand.
