If it’s June, then that means it’s time for the annual shareholder meetings of Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc. and Guelph Junction Railway. Guelph City Council is the one and only shareholder of both these corporations and every sixth month of the year they sit in a special meeting to hear the financial information and governance updates from both companies. Well, it’s that time again, so let’s dig into the updates!
NOTE #1: Delegates will be able to appear at these meeting in-person or via tele-presense but you do have to register with the clerks office before 10 am on Friday June 20. You can also submit written delegations and correspondences for agenda items.
NOTE #2: In addition to meeting in-person, this meeting will also be live-streamed on the City of Guelph’s website here.
Note #3: These meetings will start at the special times of 3:30 pm and 4:30 pm respectively.
City Council as Shareholder of Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc.
2024 Annual Report and Financial Reporting to the Shareholder – Reminder: GMHI is the apparatus that the City uses to manage it’s shares in Alectra, into which Guelph Hydro was merged in 2019. Compared to 2023, Alectra earned $1.2 million more in revenue, which resulted in an increase in GMHI’s equity, but the dividend paid for 2024 is $3.8 million and that’s pretty much what the City accounted for in the budget.
Governance Update – Now six years after the merger was complete, it was decided that a review of the Shareholder Declaration was in order. So what are the changes? The updates will reflect the current corporate structure, clarify the authority of GMHI and the Board, and make changes to more easily allow officers to fulfill their duties including the appointment of officers. Gene Matthews, who is presently the acting DCAO of Corporate Service, will also be appointed as a director.
See the complete agenda on the City of Guelph website here.
City Council as Shareholder of Guelph Junction Railway Limited
2024 Annual Report and Financial Reporting to the Shareholder – According to the report, GJR surpassed 2023’s record in both revenues and railcar counts; with revenue, GJR collected $8.2 million for the year, which is $643,000 over 2023, while the railcar count sits at 5,931, and that’s an increase of 194. In terms of upgrading the infrastructure, GJR replaced 2,377 rail ties in 2024, disposed of over 3,200 rail ties, upgraded the North Industrial section from 100-pound to 115-pound rail, and completed repairs on the Eramosa bridge. But in terms of economic benefit back to the City, GJR will be pay a dividend of $250,000, which is about $100,000 more than what was budgeted.
Governance Update – There are some big changes coming to the governance structure of the GJR that the shareholder will be asked to approve, the biggest change though is that Tara Baker is resigning as the CEO and will be succeeded by Deputy CAO of Infrastructure, Development and Environment Jayne Holmes. Gene Matthews will also be appointed as director while GM of Economic Development and Tourism James Goodram will take on the role of Chief Operations Officer. There are also changes to the shareholder declaration that need to be approved.
Guelph Politico 