Belleville, Ont. mayor says he intends to use ‘strong mayor’ powers

When it comes to “strong mayor” powers Belleville mayor Neil Ellis is unequivocal.

“I’ve said in council, I’m going to sign it,” Ellis said.

Initially when the Ford government brought in strong mayor powers it applied to a little over two dozen mid and large-size cities in the province.

Those powers have been expanded to smaller cities like Belleville.

The rationale put forward by the provincial government is that strong mayor powers would help the provincial government hit their goal of building 1.5 million homes by 2031.

Mayor Ellis said he is electing to use the powers to build more homes in the city, and if those goals are reached, that means more money coming from the province to fund other projects.

“If we make our targets, it’s about $2.4 million. If we make 80 per cent of our targets, then it does decline,” said Ellis. “If we make our targets, and exceed that, then there will be more money. It’s possible that over $3 million could come to the community.”

Ellis doesn’t have many supporters on council on this decision.

In Monday’s council meeting, only one councillor was on his side, with the rest voting to oppose the move.

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Coun. Paul Carr, who authored the motion to oppose the strong mayor powers, says he understands why Ellis is accepting, but feels that the province is trying to shut local councils out.

“What it’s saying essentially, or how I looked at it, is that council is an obstacle to development, and we need council out of the way, and we’ll just deal directly with the mayors. Then the mayors will become an agent of the province, and they’ll implement those priorities,” Carr said.

In terms of hitting the housing targets and getting that cash from the province, Ellis said they’ve already hit their goal this year.

This comes as Belleville continues to grow rapidly, and is experiencing a housing crunch like many cities in the province.

“Very low vacancy rate, the same as eastern Ontario, affordable housing, rental properties and housing in general,” Ellis said. “Our population has expanded since the last census by about 7,000 people, and it’s growing. People want to be here, which is great, but we haven’t got the housing stock.”

Ellis has until Oct. 15 to sign the papers granting him strong mayor powers.