Here it comes.

Say goodbye to your township council, your city hall, and most of your 59 municipal elected officials. And to the local control and accountability that went with them.

Almost certainly, we are looking at big changes in which our four townships and three cities — each with its own planning department, firefighting force and recreation facilities — will merge into one giant city of more than 500,000.

Tuesday's announcement from Queen's Park named two trusted public servants who will review all eight regional municipalities in the province, including Waterloo, Niagara, Halton and York.

One of them is Michael Fenn, former chief administrator for the City of Hamilton, and a former deputy minister under three premiers.

The other is Ken Seiling, who chaired Waterloo regional council for 33 years until stepping down from the position last year.

"They picked two of the finest, most experienced people," said Terry Cooke, former chair of Hamilton-Wentworth Region before it amalgamated into the City of Hamilton in 2001.

Fenn and Seiling will hold consultations this spring. By summer, they will advise the Ontario government led by Premier Doug Ford on how to improve governance, decision-making and service delivery.

Everything is on the table, including amalgamation.

Amalgamation — that shotgun wedding tactic which turned Hamilton and Toronto into giant cities that absorbed small towns and rural areas nearby — last happened en masse two decades ago under a different Progressive Conservative premier, Mike Harris.

Waterloo Region stayed away from the shadow of the axe back then.

Our two-tier system remained. It was confusing for local residents, who didn't know whom to call when streets weren't plowed or water rates went up.

But each community had a lot of control over what happened there. Some spent more than others on recreation facilities or libraries. Some sponsored neighbourhood festivals, others invested in beautiful buildings downtown.

If Waterloo Region amalgamates, many things will change. A single government for the region could concentrate spending and focus in one key area, enabling the kind of excellence that's impossible with a more fragmented approach.

Will money be saved overall? Probably not, according to a study of Toronto's experience by the Munk School of Global Affairs at University of Toronto.

Has Hamilton's 18-year experience with amalgamation been a success? It depends on who is being asked.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger says it has been great. Hamilton became larger and more powerful. Revenue from wealthy surrounding communities like Glanbrook, Dundas and Burlington provided vital funds to combat urban decay in the city's core.

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But ask retired farmer Ron Ellis, who lives in rural Flamborough (which is part of the City of Hamilton), and you'll hear a different story.

"We have been effectively disenfranchised, " Ellis told me recently. "Our interests here are misunderstood. In east end Hamilton, what do they care that we need a culvert out here?"

If Seiling alone were making the decision for Waterloo Region, I'd expect him to find a balance between rural and urban interests, as he has always done.

But Seiling won't be deciding, only advising.

Premier Doug Ford is most likely to finish what Mike Harris started. It makes sense. Once you merge the firefighting forces, official plans and recreation budgets, there's little else for city and township councillors to do.

The only remaining decision will be what to call the new super-city. Kitchener is the largest city in the cluster. But Waterloo has more recognition from outside. Cambridge? Don't be ridiculous.

ldamato@therecord.com

Twitter: @DamatoRecord

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