County News
Nuclear option
Mayor signals intention to veto council decision
Less than 48 hours after County council ratified its decision not to pursue a costly and risky waterworks plan, Mayor Steve Ferguson has signaled his intention to veto that decision using strong mayor powers given to him by Doug Ford’s government.
On Tuesday evening, council voted 8-6 to reject a $360 million plan to expand waterworks capacity in Picton, Wellington and Bloomfield. A majority of council members felt the plan was too big, too expensive and too potentially perilous for a municipality that has struggled to pull off smaller infrastructure projects on time or on budget.
What it means?
The notice Mayor Ferguson delivered to council on Thursday is not a veto—but a signal that he is considering one. He had 48 hours after the council decision to serve his intent.
Should the mayor proceed to issue a veto, council will receive the written veto decision and supporting rationale. Under the Municipal Act, council may then consider overriding the veto, which would require a two-thirds vote of all council members within the prescribed period.
He has 14 days from the council vote to make a final decision. If the mayor vetoes the council decision, the council has 21 days to try to override it. To do so, however, will require a two-thirds vote of all council members—not just those present for the vote.
During the debate at council on Tuesday, Mayor Ferguson stressed that the province has been generous to this municipality, rewarding it for its “innovative approaches.”
And that “if we do not move forward, we are at tremendous risk of losing future funding, provincial or federal, for water and wastewater facilities.”
Strong mayor powers
Doug Ford’s government extended strong mayor powers to 169 municipalities, including Prince Edward County, in April 2025. His government was falling well short of its target for new homes in the province. Giving these mayors sweeping powers was seen as a way to overcome local roadblocks.
Many municipalities rejected provincial interference in local affairs. Municipal bureaucrats also sounded the alarm.
“Our research indicates that strong mayor powers have blurred the political-administrative authority between the roles of head of council and chief administrative officers (CAOs), threatening the neutrality of the public service and politicizing local government leadership.
End of the line
The departing mayor has made a bold move with just days left in his term.
Mayor Ferguson had previously disavowed the need for strong mayor powers. He assured his fellow councillors that he saw no use for the additional powers and that they ran counter to his preferred approach.
“I cannot see any reason why any of the strong mayor powers would be needed,” said Mayor Ferguson at council meeting last May. “My preference is to work in a collaborative fashion with the council.”
There are just 45 days left in the council term. Ferguson is not running for re-election.
This is from the Ontario website regarding strong mayor powers of veto:
The head of council can choose to veto certain by-laws if they are of the opinion that all or part of the by-law could potentially interfere with a provincial priority in this regulation. Only by-laws approved by council made under the Municipal Act, 2001, the City of Toronto Act, 2006, the Planning Act and section 2 of the Development Charges Act may be vetoed by the head of council.
You will note that the veto power is a power to veto a bylaw. No bylaw was passed or even considered in this instance. In my humble opinion the mayor has nothing to veto. I formed the same opinion after reading the actual legislation.
The Mayor can bring forward a Bylaw and if voted down he could veto that Council decision it so that it stands.
Our Mayor has for 8 years promoted the County very well, accessing Provincial and Federal funding. He has worked tirelessly. I understand why he would not want to depart Office leaving the County in a most vulnerable position, in terms of losing or the ability to receive future funding. For one that has laboured so hard and fought fiercely for progression, I understand his position at the end of his term!
Sorry to have to tell you this, Gary. Our Mayor put us in this position.
He gave the developers free reign from the start, with his Blessing. Not just in the County, but within Shire Hall. What was he thinking in allowing a contract with a developer to house their own paid Staff inside of Shire Hall in his first term as Mayor? How many Residents are even aware that this occurred? It was buried on the 300th page of a report by the previous CAO not long after the 2022 election. I understand he wants to see this water project well on its way before he leaves. I get it. But he’s leaving all of us with a right old mess, no answers to questions, and it’s time to go back to basics and find out how this went so horribly wrong, and fix it. Financial Assistance from the government may be delayed while this is being looked into and that’s tough. But it’s not the end of the World, and other incentives from the government will be forthcoming because they want the builds. It’s like waiting for the next bus. This decision is no longer his to make – he’s had his turn. It’s down to the incoming Council, and I wish them luck with that one!
Oh but it is very much his decision to make, that’s where you are mistaken. The Mayor is the head of Council and his term is still active. He needs to lead in the best interests of the County and the residents. That is why he is considering next steps if required.
Silly me.
I thought being so close to an election, one that he is not running in by the way, it would be wise for him to let the next council pursue this on their terms. If he is so confident he is right, then why isn’t he running again? i’m not seeing anything to convince me about his way of thinking. Just reading about all the things that have gone so wrong, for so long, are enough to make me question the whole thing and ask for a new look into this.
His decision? What about the rest of us who are going to be lumbered with this mess and have to straighten it all out? It’s not his money, and he’ll be long gone.
Has everyone listened to the strong arguments of the 6 members of Council supporting this plan without any spending commitments? 4 of the Councilors are seeking reelection and 1 is Acclaimed. They present some very valid points as things need to move forward with a plan. Doing nothing is not an acceptable or intelligent option. You will not receive Provincial or Federal funding without a plan. Some Council decisions are not easy and are very difficult to arrive at agreement. This issue is one of those. Strong Mayor Powers may be required in this exceptional matter.
@Fred, arguments that are loud in volume, and/or repeated blindly without critical thought, do not meet the standard of “strong arguments”.
The current Council and Staff are not “planning” anything. They are reacting. Reacting to developer onslaughts which are designed to separate existing County taxpayers from their money.
Developers could care less whether a house ever gets built. They make their money by getting municipalities to fund infrastructure on speculation of houses being built.
That way, the taxpayer bears the risk and the developer gets the reward.
Follow the money. It’s your money. Unless of course you are not a taxpayer, in which case I suppose you might not care.
Well then explain Councilor St.Jeans message regarding developers need to know the plan in order to pay up front costs. Give us some substance to disagree with basically 50% of Council. Are the six Council members all out to lunch?
Very few people actually understand the developer business model. It’s called a land banking and regulatory lift strategy.
1) Buy undeveloped land
2) Lobby the municipality to achieve a massive jump in land valuation occurs because of a transition from “Agricultural/Rural” to “Urban Residential”.
3) This is a phase completely driven by municipal policy decisions and infrastructural investments rather than physical construction.
When you “follow the money”, you see these things:
1) Developer lays out a sum of cash to buy the undeveloped land.
2) Next, developer spends time and money lobbying municipal leaders, Staff, and the media, promising significant benefits to all from the vision of house after house appearing, all being bought by newcomers to the municipality. The key phrase they use is “increasing the tax base”.
3) By the time the re-zoning, and servicing of the land is done (water and sewer, typically), the municipality has spent MORE money (taxpayer money) than the developer had to spend to buy the undeveloped land and do their lobbying.
4) But at this stage, no homes are actually built, and yet on paper, the developer’s assets are worth significantly more than what they paid. Why? because the risk has been transferred all from the developer to the municipality.
The developer at this point can afford to sit around and wait, because they are no longer burning cash.
In the County’s case, we have burned lots of cash. Borrowed cash. Cash which the County is paying interest on.
Whether or not houses are EVER built, or when, is of no real concern to the developer.
And NO developer will build houses they cannot sell.
Critical thinking should be applied to answer the question: “If I am a person considering relocating to the County from an urban jungle, to live within a charming, rural environment, why on earth would I leave Missisissauga or Bowmanville, to buy a similar home, a 40 minutes drive south of the 401 and major shopping, services and employment?”
These questions have NOT been asked by Council or Staff. Instead, they have parroted the narratives of “growth pays for growth” and “we have to trust our staff” and “the consultants report says …”. Good little parrots.
Consultants have a business model too. It is NEVER just about the initial engagement. The initial engagement’s objective is to develop a future revenue stream with more and more engagements. Consultants charge by the hour, at rates much higher than any Staff member. It’s all about chargeable time. And increasing chargeable time is the goal.
There are five members of this Council on the Prince Edward County Affordable Housing Corporation [PECAHC] – three more Councillors than they are mandated to be allowed – who are working in conjunction with various Developers very active in the County. Stacking the deck? A Conflict of Interest in favour of the developers, perhaps?
We have a Picton Councillor on this PECAHC Governance Committee who had accepted an election campaign donation in the 2022 election from a developer extremely active in his Ward.
We have our present Mayor who had accepted three campaign donations in the 2022 election from developers working in the County. Another Conflict of Interest in favour of the developers, perhaps?
I beg to differ – these are not strong arguments for pushing through a plan by people who couldn’t organize a “Pxxx-Ux in a Brewery”. Nothing is coordinated, on time, guaranteed to be accomplished in our lifetime, or on budget.
And, not to belabour the point but there is the fact that we are very close to an election where ALL of this is rightfully the responsibility of incoming council. Let the voters make this decision and, thank you very much Council and Staff, it can be taken from there with a fresh perspective.
If the provincial and federal governments really do want all this house building done, then they an damned well make us an offer again when we have our House in Order, and not before.
Hardly a fresh perspective! We now know we have 3 returning thru Acclamation. I would easily say that 50 to 60 % of the present Council will return. So let’s not hold breath on a whole new wave of governance. The County cannot manage significant projects, lessons from Wellington water trunk line 19 million over budget and now the new Long Term Care Home in Picton, 6 months delayed, a negligent Contractor and inadequate oversight. Present Water costs are driving residents out of the County. So how do you correct an oversized staffed Municipality with no experience in reductions or oversight that just continues to assume more debt. Answer, the Province needs to step in and take control.
AGREED!
WE DESPERATELY NEED A GOVERNMENT LED PUBLIC INQUIRY, AND THE PROVINCE TO TAKE OVER TO GET THIS UNSUPERVISED HOUSE IN ORDER!
An egregious assault on the democratic norms of our community. Steve, Don’t Do It! The majority of Council have spoken and you need to respect their resolution. You are sacrificing your legacy as Mayor by putting the financial and fiscal viability of the County at risk, and burdening the ratepayers and taxpayers, your neighbours and friends, with enormous debt without any solid guarantee of reward from the developers. If you are really committed to responsible growth (but obliged to appease the developers), direct Shire Hall to find an alternative solution to provide the committed developers (like the one up the hill) with water as they build out their development, by reaching a workable risk sharing agreement, without incurring enormous debt for the County.
I beg to differ on one point.
This Mayor, and Council, have absolutely no business making any directions to Shire Hall concerning massive expenditures at this stage, ahead of the upcoming election. As they should, they have listened to arguments and deputations lately by various developers, people representing developers, committees, etc. and they are all put “on record”, but no action taken – which is proper. I have my own suspicions as to what is behind the thinking of this latest development, and if time proves me right, this Mayor should just walk away and keep his dignity intact.
Must of this could have been avoided had he kept up with his Community Conversations promise to us, when he was elected. After a few of the Ward/councillor meetings, he discontinued the practice, leaving the rest of the County without these direct communications by our Mayor, and absolutely no explanation or warning he was not going to engage further.
Mayor Ferguson – I no longer believe. I no longer trust. And it’s all down to you accepting the 2022 election contributions from well-known and active in the County Developers. It is in the best interests of the residents, voters and taxpayers of this County for you to stand down. It is up to the incoming Council now. Not you. So, thank you for your “Service” over the past twelve years, some of which has been good, much of it, not so.
I have one question for you, Sir. I have heard from several people in Picton that you have accepted a position with a well-known business in the County once you leave Office, which to my mind would call into question your motives for using the Strong Mayor Powers. As these are merely rumours, clarification would be a good idea, as this rumour is gaining traction. So, what is your next move once leaving Shire Hall?
What would be even more telling is where Mr. Ferguson plans to live after he leaves office.
This is because, I assume, currently he lives in the County, and thus pays property tax.
If the developer-friendly initiatives that he and his existing Council supporters are continued, the spending and property tax hikes will greatly exceed inflation. And you can look for more borrowing, more interest that County taxpayers have to pay, making it impossible to deliver on any of the “wants” that most people want. Or, the “needs” that the County must deliver, like roads and essential services.
From the 2022 election details:
Total Registered Voters: 23,935
% of Registered Voters in Picton: 14.9%
% of Registered Voters in Wellington: 8.6%.
Location of Base 31: Picton
Location of Cold Creek: Picton
Location of New View Holdings: Picton
Location of Nicholas Street Homes: Picton
Location of Kaitlin: Wellington
So, the massive spending and debt incurred by the County to date is being driven by proposals in Wards that have less then a QUARTER of the registered voters in the County.
If you are a taxpayer and are wanting your property tax increases capped at inflation:
1) Make sure you are registered to vote — https://pecounty.voterservices.ca/
2) Make sure that you vote!
3) Make sure that your candidates know that you want your property tax increases capped at inflation.
If not, well, you can wait for your surprise package in the spring from tax@pecounty
As to that “rumour” of our Mayor’s next employment engagement – I, also, have been hearing it quietly whispered. But not in Picton. If true, then perhaps he plans on either staying, or moving just off-county enough for an easy commute, at which point the ramifications of his “last kick at the can” willfully using his Strong Mayor Powers won’t impact him. However, also, if true, there is a very strong suspicion that it could determine a Conflict of Interest which could turn on him even after his departure, and he should just stop this nonsense immediately. It is far too close to our Election. Rightfully leave it for incoming Council to hold a massive meeting in Wellington Arena, once again, with the ratepayers who will be saddled with this mess of Shire Hall’s own creation [which would be a pity as apparently this Council didn’t learn from the first one]. Then THEY make an informed decision with the ratepayers, as to whether or not to continue pursing this. Perhaps this time they would actually listen to what we have to say. It is no longer the responsibility of this administration – neither Council, nor Staff. Just Drop It, Mayor Ferguson.
Base 31 is not in Picton Ward. It is in Bloomfield/Hallowell Ward.
Good catch, @Michelle — Base 31 is indeed (currently) in Ward 2 – Bloomfield / Hallowell.
In the 2022 election, this ward had a total of 16.8% of registered voters.
That means that the wards containing about 40% of the registered voters, is where ALL of the money-vacuuming subdivisions are located, consuming massive amounts of County taxpayer dollars, to the benefit of the developers and their consultants.
The other 60% of registered voters get to subsidize these projects, and will never benefit from them at all.
Follow the money. It’s YOUR money. Regardless of which Ward you live in.
Perhaps all those residents who showed up in the Wellington Arena for the Council meeting would like to show up at Shire Hall during the next Meeting of Council to have a “word in our Mayor’s shell-like ear”? Question is, just who is this Mayor of ours listening to?
Clearly Ferguson intends this to be a rude gesture to the taxpayers of the County.
And also to the few Councillors who are actually listening to the taxpayers, and paying attention to the massive unnecessary financial burden to the County.
The commitments they have already made, not including this new bunch of spending, are mostly unfunded by anything other than debt.
The hole is already deep — as of Dec 31, 2025, $81 MILLION NEGATIVE NET WORTH. And only the Finance Director, the CAO and the Mayor know how deep the hole is today, and they won’t say.
Should Ferguson decide to make this move, the existing Prince Edward County Council has specific statutory mechanisms to block or check the Mayor’s override:
– Veto Override via Two-Thirds Vote: If the Mayor officially vetoes a Council resolution (or forces a budget amendment for the waterworks initiative), Council has the authority under provincial legislation to override the Mayor’s decision. This requires a two-thirds majority vote of all Council members. Given that the previous votes failed in a 6-6 tie and an 8-6 split, the opposing councillors would need to rally at least 10 of the 14 total Council seats to successfully block the Mayor.
The Current Split (The Steep Hill to Climb)
——————————————-
In the recent final vote rejecting the waterworks financial strategy, the council split 8 to 6 against the plan: [4]
– The 8 Votes Against the Plan (Who want the veto override): Councillors Brad Nieman, Corey Engelsdorfer, Chris Braney, Phil Prinzen, Roy Pennell, Janice Maynard, David Harrison, and Sam Branderhorst.
– The 6 Votes For the Plan (Who support the Mayor’s direction): Mayor Steve Ferguson, Bill Roberts, Phil St-Jean, Sam Grosso, John Hirsch, and Kate MacNaughton.
Because the anti-waterworks faction only has 8 reliable votes, they must flip at least 2 councillors who previously voted in favour of the project to reach the required 10 votes.
Hirsch is acclaimed in Ward 9, so he will inherit whatever this Council and Mayor leave behind.
Grosso, St. Jean, MacNaughton and Roberts all have competition in their wards. Will they continue to support the Mayor?
If you are a taxpayer, you should logically care deeply about this. I urge everyone to find the facts, not the rhetoric. Do not trust the advice of those who stand to benefit financially from a decision to follow the Mayor. Instead, trust your gut and intuition. And as always, follow the money. It’s YOUR money.
One would expect the mayor, who is not running and whose current term will end in just over 6 weeks, to leave such a decision to the next administration.
Yes indeed, one would. But that would require a degree of honour and respect for the community that seems to be missing.