Holstered

Mayor assures Council it still has a role in municipal decision-making

Mayor Steve Ferguson came within a whisker of declaring he would not use strong mayor powers vested in him by the province earlier this month. He came very close.

“I cannot see any reason why any of the strong mayor powers would be needed,” said Mayor Ferguson at council meeting last week. “My preference is to work in a collaborative fashion with the council.”

But it wasn’t the full-throated rejection of the new powers that Councillor Roy Pennell was looking for. The Ameliasburgh councillor suggested Mayor Ferguson could put Council and residents at ease if he declared he wouldn’t use the powers—powers Councillor Pennell describes as dictatorial— until the next election.

Mayor Ferguson responded, saying he “didn’t anticipate using them.”

So close.

Yet, it isn’t obvious what refusal would mean in legal terms. Indeed, County Clerk Victoria Leskie explained that according to her reading of the legislation, strong mayor powers could not be refused.

But the mayor’s authority may be delegated.

Mayor Ferguson has already transferred unilateral authority over the hiring and firing of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to Council. He has further assigned responsibility for employment matters for senior staff to the CAO.

Councillor Corey Engelsdorfer commended the mayor for his “restraint and transparency” in his handling of strong mayor powers so far. He urged the head of council to continue to hold strong mayor powers in abeyance until the next election.

The Wellington councillor’s resolution requested the provincial premier and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to rescind strong mayor legislation and recommit to the “meaning and spirit of democracy.”

“At a moment when residents already feel their voices are not heard,” said Engelsdorfer, “putting the authority of municipal governance in the hands of a single person will surely erode whatever trust remains in our municipal political system.”

Several council members spoke in favour of the motion, pointing to the threat strong mayor powers posed to democratic decision-making around the council table. They did so while applauding Mayor Ferguson’s workarounds to the legislation—re-engaging Council in municipal decision making.

Councillor Engelsdorfer’s motion passed unanimously.

The matter of budget deliberations drew the most interest from Council. Under the strong mayor powers, the head of council will propose the municipal budget. While the budget may be subject to amendments, the mayor may veto such changes.

On its face, it puts nearly full authority on the mayor to set and approve municipal budgets.

Councillor Brad Nieman sought clarification from the clerk if council members would continue to have a role in setting budgets.

Mayor Ferguson jumped in to assure the Hallowell councillor that budgets would continue to be prepared and deliberated as they have.

For 10 years, budgets have been a collaborative process,” responded Mayor Ferguson. “It is my intention that this process will remain the same. We are just trying to figure out how to do that.”

According to Clerk Leskie, there is still much to understand and work through in the new legislation.

One quirk has added an extra layer of admin to the clerk’s and mayor’s duties. With every decision that Council makes, Mayor Ferguson must formally approve the decision.

“It isn’t considered final until the mayor says so,” explained Leskie.

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown—or chain of office.