Fonds RG 1 - City of Vaughan Council fonds (RG 1)

Title and statement of responsibility area

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City of Vaughan Council fonds (RG 1)

General material designation

  • Textual record

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Town of Vaughan Council fonds, Vaughan Township Council fonds

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Fonds

Reference code

CA ON00373 RG 1

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

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Date(s)

  • predominant 1849-2014 (Creation)

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Physical description

47 m of textual records + supporting cartographic material.
1 framed certificate : 29.5 x 37 cm.

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Administrative history

In 1850, as a consequence of the Robert Baldwin Act of 1849, the Vaughan Township Council came into being as a corporate entity. The legislation provided for the election of four Councillors and a Reeve with power to appoint officers, supervise statute labour, levy local taxes and borrow certain moneys. A Deputy-Reeve(s) was appointed from the members of Council. The Vaughan Township Council bore responsibility for all aspects of local government and administration in the Township. Council consisted of 4 Councillors and a Reeve. The Reeve was the Head of Council and was elected by his fellow Councillors. As was the case for the entire Council, the office holder was required to live within a two mile radius of the municipality and possess the right to a legal or equitable freehold of $400.00 or a leasehold of $800.00. The duties of the Reeve included presiding as head of Council at all of the monthly Council meetings, and, in conjunction with the other council members, initiating and establishing the rules and regulations for the government of the municipality and reviewing the conduct of all officers in the employ of the municipality. The Reeve was also tasked with recommending to council ways and means of improving local finance, health, security, comfort and the aesthetic quality of the Township. Additionally, the incumbent served as the municipality’s Justice of the Peace and was a member of the Vaughan Township Board of Health. Deputy Reeves were elected by Council with their number proportional to the area’s population. Their responsibilities varied only marginally from those of Councillor’s -- the chief differentiating factor being that a Deputy Reeve served as a Reeve in the latter’s absence. Individual Councillors were elected by the constituents of their respective Wards. Council ultimately bore responsibility for all aspects of municipal governments as indicated earlier. Elections were held annually between 1850-1957, when two-year terms were introduced. This system was in place up until 1970. The structure of Council changed in 1971 with the advent of regional government and the ascension of Vaughan Township to the status of a Town. From 1971-1988, Council consisted of 4 Local Councillors, 1 Local and Regional Councillor and a Mayor. As of 1989, the roster was increased to 2 Regional representatives. Council retained this latter structure as Vaughan attained City status in 1991. This structure has been maintained during the time-frame encompassed by the fonds.

Custodial history

The records of the City of Vaughan Council and its predecessor bodies were generated between 1849-2014. They were subsequently placed in the custody of the Office of the Clerk-Treasurer/Office of the City Clerk in 1968 in compliance with the Municipal Act, wherein the City Clerk is designated as keeper of the records.

Scope and content

Fonds consists of records that reflect the functions and activities of Council as a legislative and regulatory body in legal matters, taxation, justice and public protection, education, public health and welfare, finance, public accountability and planning. Records include, but are not limited to: working papers, minutes and resolutions, by-laws, reports to Council, and Court of Revision Records. The fonds chronicles Council activities and functions, and documents decisions and deliberations, and relationship with the civic administration, the Province of Ontario, the County of York, the Village of Woodbridge before 1971, and the Regional Municipality of York after 1971.

Notes area

Physical condition

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Language of material

  • English

Script of material

    Location of originals

    City of Vaughan Archives

    Availability of other formats

    City Council and Committee Agendas, Minutes and Extracts from 2001-September 2012 are available on the City of Vaughan's website: https://meetingarchives.vaughan.ca/

    City Council and Committee Agendas, Minutes and Extracts from September 2012-May 2018 are available on the City of Vaughan's website: https://www.vaughan.ca/council/minutes_agendas/pages/mds.aspx

    City Council and Committee Agendas, Minutes and Extracts from May 2018-present are available on the City of Vaughan's website: https://www.vaughan.ca/council/minutes_agendas/Pages/default.aspx

    Restrictions on access

    Series VI is restricted.

    Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

    Finding aids

    Finding Aid is available on City of Vaughan's Archival website: https://vaughan.ca/archives

    Associated materials

    Related material may be found in the Records of the Office of the Clerk-Treasurer and Vaughan Township fonds (1849-1968). The Clerk Treasurer, Vaughan Township was the chief instrument of Council policy, and accordingly Series VI of this collection illustrate the means by which Council initiatives and decisions came to be practically applied. The Correspondence series of this fonds includes examples of documentation addressed to Council but passed on by the latter to the Clerk-Treasurer for action.
    For those researchers interested in the Woodbridge Municipal Council, RG 3, the Records of the Village of Woodbridge, 1869-1970, should be consulted.

    Related materials

    Accruals

    Further accruals are expected.

    General note

    The Minute Series (Series II) offers the highest level of insight vis-a-vis the work accomplishments and principals of Council throughout time. For those interested in the most detailed portrait of the innermost mechanisms and workings of the Council process, Series II should be used in conjunction with Series I, which is constituted of the working papers of Council (draft September, petitions, motions, resolutions and so forth). The Vaughan Township by-law series also possesses considerable evidential value, and thus should not be overlooked by researchers. (Evidential value may be defined as the value of records as authentic documentation of the organization and functioning of an agency). Series IV which includes minutes, reports and September of York County consists of merely three printed volumes and as such can at best be viewed as a somewhat representative sample of the material that originally constituted this aggregate of records.

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