Following a discussion at its September Committee of the Whole meeting this week, Cumberland municipal council is expressing its concerns with and opposition to the potential enactment of so-called Strong Mayor Power legislation in Nova Scotia.
There have been media reports that the province is considering legislative amendments on this issue and discussions regarding this possibility have been making the rounds in municipal circles all summer.
Under the current municipal legislation in Nova Scotia, the mayor is a leader among equals on Council with a single vote and no authority to manage the day-to-day operations of the municipality. Conversely, Ontario has implemented strong mayor powers which confer upon the mayor the authority to hire and fire senior staff including the CAO, rearrange the senior levels of the organization without council knowledge or approval, prepare and present the municipal budget, create committees and appoint members and chairs, pass some by-laws with only one third of Council support and exercise limited veto power.
Members of Council were unanimous in voicing their concern for the potential negative impacts on the operation of the municipality and the on the potential erosion of the relevance of district councillors in decision making.
“This Council has zero interest in the implementation of strong mayor powers,“ Mayor Rod Gilroy said. “In Cumberland County, our elected members work as a team and respect the fact that the majority rules, and that obviously means that individually we, including myself as mayor, may not always get our own way. We also respect the role, responsibility and authority of the CAO to make day to day decisions regarding the management of the operations and human resources of the municipality. He is accountable to the whole of Council, not just the mayor, for his decisions. It works well and we do not support changing that structure.”
Following the discussion Council directed the CAO to draft letters of concern to the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, asking them to take a position on this issue advocating on its behalf, and to the provincial government, expressing its opposition to the potential implementation of strong mayor powers.