Dysart et al to adopt ‘Strong Mayors Powers’ on June 24

While many municipalities across the province are rejecting the Strong Mayors Powers recently bestowed upon them by the province, the Municipality of Dysart et al is not.

A public notice issued by the municipality says council plans to approve an amendment of their procedural bylaw at the June 24 meeting to incorporate new mayoral duties and responsibilities in accordance with the Strong Mayors Powers.

In early April, the province extended the powers to 169 communities to help deliver on provincial priorities, such as building more homes, transit and other infrastructure.

The City of Kawartha Lakes, and 46 other municipalities across Ontario, are already involved.

The province says it’s a significant expansion that reflects Ontario’s commitment to streamline local governance and help ensure municipalities have the tools they need to reduce obstacles that can stand in the way of new housing and infrastructure development.

Ontario’s strong mayor powers, initially introduced for Toronto and Ottawa in 2022, have been gradually rolled out across the province. The province says they help to cut red tape and accelerate the delivery of key priorities in their communities.

Strong mayor powers and duties include:

• Choosing to appoint the municipality’s chief administrative officer.
• Hiring certain municipal department heads and establishing and re-organizing departments.
• Creating committees of council, assigning their functions and appointing the chairs and vice-chairs of committees of council.
• Proposing the municipal budget, which would be subject to council amendments and a separate head of council veto and council override process.
• Proposing certain municipal by-laws if the mayor is of the opinion that the proposed by-law could potentially advance a provincial priority identified in regulation. Council can pass these by-laws if more than one-third of all council members vote in favour.
• Vetoing certain by-laws if the head of council is of the opinion that all or part of the by-law could potentially interfere with a provincial priority.
• Bringing forward matters for council consideration if the head of council is of the opinion that considering the matter could potentially advance a provincial priority.