The province’s “strong mayor powers” have now come into effect for Niagara-on-the-Lake and its lord mayor, after councillors voted against rejecting them in a split vote on Tuesday night.
During the April 29 council meeting, councillors voted 5-4 against a motion brought forth by Coun. Sandra O’Connor, requesting that the province rescind the powers for NOTL.
Speaking on her motion, O’Connor quoted the mayor of Newmarket, John Taylor, who said the powers would show the province trusts the mayor’s opinion more than that of other councillors in a municipality.
“This power is not needed to fulfil council’s duty,” she said.
NOTL would not be alone in rescinding the powers, O’Connor added.
“Nine other municipalities passed motions already, rejecting the strong mayor power,” she said.
These strong mayor powers, rolled out for 169 municipalities across Ontario by the provincial government in early April, came into effect May 1.
They give the lord mayor more control over key parts of municipal governance, allowing him to introduce bylaws that aim to advance provincial priorities, veto council decisions if they interfere with provincial priorities, table the town’s budget and hire certain municipal department heads.
Coun. Wendy Cheropita asked Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa how he felt about the powers, but he refused to answer.
“You don’t strike me as the type who would take advantage of it,” Cheropita said.
In an interview with The Lake Report, Zalepa said that when used properly, the powers give the ability to help move government processes along faster.
For example, rather than waiting for a meeting to bring forth a community matter to town staff, the mayor can ask staff in writing to investigate something, he said.
“Whatever information they find, they bring back to the committee,” Zalepa said.
“At the end of the day, council still makes the decision.”
Zalepa was one of the five council members who voted against rejecting the powers, along with Couns. Tim Balasiuk, Andrew Niven, Erwin Wiens and Cheropita. Couns. Gary Burroughs, Maria Mavridis, Adriana Vizzari and Sandra O’Connor voted in favour of rescinding the powers.
Wiens said there are benefits to the strong mayor powers, including budget preparation.
A two-thirds majority vote from council members can overturn a veto used by strong mayor powers, Wiens said.
“What’s happened is the process has changed, but it’s still a democratic process,” he said.
During the discussion about O’Connor’s motion, Wiens said he would rather discuss the positions of the Rural Ontario Municipal Association and the Association of Ontario Municipalities before making a “knee-jerk” decision for Niagara-on-the-Lake.
“I’d like to hear what the rest of the Niagara region mayors are saying,” he said.
Cheropita said she agreed with Wiens’ feelings.
“I agree with Councillor Wiens just said, about gathering information before making a decision on the fly,” she said.
Zalepa told The Lake Report he has meetings scheduled with staff to discuss proper process, before using the powers — if at all.
The powers are available for use, but do not need to be used, Zalepa confirmed.
According to a news release from the province, the expansion of power aims to help deliver on the provincial government’s priorities, such as building more homes, transit and infrastructure.
The goal of the powers is to allow mayors, as heads of council, to support government priorities shared by the province and these municipalities.
Before May 1, 47 municipalities had these enhanced powers, which were rolled out in 2022, first for Toronto and Ottawa.
