Of the four municipal representatives granted strong mayor powers this past spring, three have returned some of those abilities to their respective councils and administrations.
The Ontario government expanded strong mayor powers, effective May 1, to The Municipality of Lambton Shores, Town of Petrolia, Town of Plympton-Wyoming, and St. Clair Township.
Petrolia Mayor Brad Loosley initially said he would keep all additional powers until he knew more about the legislation.
After Integrity Commissioner John Mascarin provided an in-depth council education session, Loosley chose to delegate some strong mayor powers to council and the administration. They include the establishment of committees and functions to council, organizational structure and ability to hire and dismiss certain senior staff to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), and to delegate recruitment and dismissal of the CAO to council.
The remaining powers Loosley has retained cannot be delegated.
"I strongly felt that a detailed review was important before I made a quick decision. I trust our administrative staff, and I value the input of council and the role that we all play in the continued betterment of the Town of Petrolia for our residents and visitors,” said Loosley in a recent media release. "I appreciate the time I have spent with staff to review the strong mayor powers, and for the opportunity to understand how we can continue to proceed with open and accountable governance in the Town of Petrolia.”
Loosley is the latest Lambton County mayor to delegate these powers.
In May, Plympton-Wyoming Mayor Gary Atkinson and Lambton Shores Mayor Doug Cook returned select powers.
While some of the strong mayor powers relate to provincial policies to build homes faster, there have been concerns about mayors being able to fire a CAO. Lambton Shores CAO Steve McAuley told council at a past meeting that the option to do so "is just the reality we live with" and is something that has already happened in Ontario since strong mayor powers were expanded.
He also said part of the legislation requires mayors, who exercise their new powers, to put their decisions in writing to the CAO and clerk and make it available to the public.
McAuley said under the Act, the mayor can present bylaws without notice at a council meeting but Mayor Cook has agreed to proceed in a transparent way. However, a future mayor could opt to only make public what is required.
While the legislation is still relatively new for area municipalities, McAuley said this method of governance is common in the U.S.
"I think this is just something we'll get used to and eventually it'll be just the way things are done," McAuley said.
Mayor Cook reminded council this was not something they asked for and said he was "blindsided" by the province's decision.
"The thing is, you can't refuse it, even though you write resolutions to say 'we don't accept it' it doesn't matter because this is provincial," Cook said.
Councillor Glen Baillie asked if the strong mayor powers would automatically disappear if council were reduced to five members, as a municipality needs to have at least six or more in order to be eligible.
"There are municipalities that are looking at changing their composition and reducing the numbers of members of council from seven to five. That question has been asked but it has not been answered by the province," said Director of Corporate Services Stephanie Troyer-Boyd.
St. Clair Mayor Jeff Agar has retained all strong mayor powers. Mayoral directions and decisions can be found on the township's website.