It has been talked about for weeks and, on Canada Day, it will finally come to fruition.
The mayors of Guelph and 25 other municipalities in Ontario will be receiving the so-called strong mayor powers.
The City of Guelph issued a news release on Friday ahead of the implementation on Saturday.
It mentioned that the mayor can delegate these powers to council or the CAO. Mayor Cam Guthrie has indicated he will delegate the hiring and firing of the chief administrative officer, and the creation of committees of council, including assigning their functions and appointing the chairs and vice-chairs, to council. The power to hire municipal department heads and establish and re-organize departments will go to the CAO.
The city also has a page on its website that covers the strong mayor powers and how they will be used.
Guthrie said in a statement that it is important to continue the collaborative efforts of all members of council alongside the professional advice and guidance offered by staff.
The province announced on June 16 that the strong mayor powers, which were first granted to the cities of Toronto and Ottawa, will now apply to the 26 municipalities.
This enables the heads of council to pass certain bylaws and motions with only one-third of council support.
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