The Ontario government is proposing to expand strong mayor powers to most of the municipalities in Grey Bruce.
Bayshore Broadcasting News asked Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau at a recent local event, what he thinks of the Province’s strong mayor expansion.
“I oppose it,” says Charbonneau.
He explains, “Strong mayor powers– this whole concept originates in big American cities like Chicago and New York City, and I don’t hear a lot of people around Saugeen Shores saying ‘Jeeze– I wish that we were governed more like Chicago is governed. I wish that our municipal council was like New York City’s.'”
Charbonneau adds, “I think we have had essentially the same structure of municipal government for longer than I’ve been alive. It has led to the tremendous success of our community and I don’t think that sidelining the elected members of council to vest a bunch of power in the hands of the mayor is going to do anything but create disruption to that and probably set us back in terms of the work we’re doing rather than help us to do anything new.”
The provincial government’s strong mayor powers regulation gives mayors or heads of council more authority, especially in dealing with housing and related provincial priorities to support the construction of homes such as transit, roads, utilities and servicing.
Charbonneau says, “The province wants us to build housing. The province wants us to build infrastructure. We want those things too and we’re advancing those things pretty aggressively. We built 600 new multi-family residential units in the last two years. That was under the leadership of the council as it is, and so we can keep that progress going. We don’t need a strong mayor.”
According to the Ontario government, additional powers for the mayor in strong mayor municipalities are the ability to appoint the chief administrative officer, hire certain division heads, reorganize municipal departments and create new committees and appoint their chairpersons.
It also grants mayors the ability to propose bylaws that advance certain provincial priorities, and pass them with only one-third support of council. The mayor can also veto bylaws that “could potentially interfere with a provincial priority.” That veto power can be overridden by a two-thirds vote by council.
Mayors are not required to use their enhanced powers.
Eight of the nine municipalities in Grey County, are on the list for strong mayor powers (Owen Sound, Meaford, Hanover, The Blue Mountains, Grey Highlands, West Grey, Georgian Bluffs and Southgate) but not Chatsworth.
Six of Bruce County’s municipalities are (Saugeen Shores, Kincardine, Brockton, Arran-Elderslie, South Bruce and Huron-Kinloss) but not Northern Bruce Peninsula and not South Bruce Peninsula because they have fewer than six council members.
If it moves ahead, the expanded strong mayor powers will come into effect May 1st.
