Voters in the Town of Amherstburg will choose their councillors at large in the 2026 municipal election.
At their meeting on Monday night, councillors voted 6-1 against a motion by Mayor Michael Prue to move forward with transitioning Amherstburg to a ward system of representation.
Prue's motion was to hire a consultant to create five wards for councillors, with the mayor and deputy mayor elected at large.
Voters narrowly approved a referendum during the 2022 municipal election to create a ward system, but because turnout was below the 50 per cent threshold, the vote was non-binding.
Councillor Peter Courtney cited a lack of adequate time to create a ward system.
"It looks like it's too late in the game to do anything, and I feel very discouraged about this. I feel like I dropped the ball," Courtney told his colleagues. "In my first term on council, knocking on doors, there was a resounding request to the inclusion of a ward system, or entertain it, and I said I would move that forward and open it up to the public on it."
Councillor Molly Allaire agreed the issue should have been addressed sooner, but there was no point in pointing fingers.
"We just didn't get this question soon enough for this election coming up," said Allaire. "It's not on anyone, it's just how it worked out for our community, unfortunately."
Amherstburg is one of four Windsor-Essex municipalities that elects its councillors at large. The others are Kingsville, LaSalle, and Leamington.