Burlington council to continue quest seeking to take back some strong mayor powers

A decision on whether Burlington, Ont.’s, top politician will relinquish some of the strong mayor powers she was given last spring will have to wait at least another three weeks.

Councillors seeking to take back responsibilities lost during the implementation of the province’s More Homes Built Faster Act will revisit the topic again April 16 after a special council meeting Tuesday failed to close that chapter.

The premise behind the motion, brought forth by three councillors, is to restore what they call “majority rule” on staff decisions and improve democratic accountability at city hall.

That includes restoring control over the approval of budgets.

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and her fellow politicians unanimously voted in favour of returning what can be delegated back to the council’s hands, per Ontario’s Municipal Act.

However, Meed Ward is calling for “a thoughtful fact-based conversation” in the next few weeks over some pieces she says have been clouded by “rumours, misinformation and fears.”

The mayor told Global News that “four or five” of the items can go back to council and staff, but there are others that she has no choice but to sign off on as required by the new regulations.

“For example, the budget, you have to present a budget and direct staff to present a budget,” said Meed Ward.

“You have to do it, otherwise you have no budget.”

Other Ontario municipalities, like Guelph, Kingston, Norfolk County, Haldimand County and Kitchener, have similarly turned down the power over worries it could lend themselves to a “dictatorship.”

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Some mayors have simply vowed not to use them, like Toronto and Ottawa.

Coun. Rory Nisan said his issues with the powers surround the omission of a community vote on whether it wants the mayor to have the capability and wherewithal to pass laws with the support of only one-third of councillors.

It also gives some control over the hiring and firing of senior civil servants, the power to create and dissolve committees, and veto decisions that may not fit provincial government priorities.

“They allow for this minority rule over budgets and certain legislation, which is antithetical to the democratic principle of majority rule,” Nisan explained.

He later alleged the powers were used in appointing the new city manager last month.

“It was a decision that … if the mayor had delegated those powers, it would have not been a mayoral decision,” he said.

Coun. Lisa Kearns, who’s backing the motion, submitted it’s adding influence and is “an erosion of democratic principles.”

“We won’t stand for that, and I think this will help bring us back in line with the reasons why we were elected in the first place,” she clarified.

In a statement following Tuesday’s meeting, Meed Ward went on to liken her position to that of a CEO in a corporation and reiterated that she was the only member of council elected by residents across all wards in the city.

She insisted the only thing that has changed since the implementation of the powers is the assigning of “additional responsibilities and duties” exclusive to the mayor.

That included “mayoral decisions”, required by the legislation, she used to get some 17 council approvals across the line, like taking on a new city manager.

Meed Ward says a lot of the powers simply “cannot be delegated” and of those given back by other mayors across the province were done with guidelines and conditions.

“In my scan of some 44 municipalities, all of them provided additional guidance to staff and I’m going to take the time to be equally thoughtful,” she said.

“Though some of the duties can be offloaded by delegation, accountability can’t be offloaded.”

The powers were granted to some fifty municipalities that formally committed to contribute to the Ford government’s goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031.

Additionally, cities meeting at least 80 per cent of their housing targets were also promised a portion of $200 million over three years for water and wastewater projects as well as a piece of $1.2 billion over three years through another fund for housing-related infrastructure.

Burlington missed out on those grants in the millions when it failed to meet the minimum criteria.

— with files from the Canadian Press