Brantford Mayor Davis’ Strong Mayor Powers to be Used Sparingly

The city of Brantford was extended “strong mayor” status through provinical legislation* as of July 1st 2023. These are specific powers and duties that are granted to the Mayor in order to help streamline the city’s provincially mandated growth. It includes making decisions to push through projects or bylaws when it supports provincial priorities. When the news broke earlier in the year that Brantford Mayor Davis’ Strong Mayor Powers were getting the green light, he was immediately on record to say that he would be reluctant to jump in head first without input from Council, City Staff and the community.
*Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022

A survey was setup on the Let’s Talk Brantford website for the city to share their options about Mayor Davis’ Strong Mayor Powers and what they’d like to see in specific situations.

Citizens Not On Board with Davis’ Strong Mayor Powers

The highlights of the survey about Mayor Davis’ Strong Mayor powers are as follows:

• 64% of respondents were agreeable to the Mayor directing City staff in research and counsel regarding City policies and programs.
• 54% indicated their approval of the Mayor presenting the City budget.
• A slight minority, representing 46% of respondents, were comfortable with the Mayor assigning functions to the Committees of Council.

City of Brantford press release November 1st 2023

What’s interesting is that those were the only items with positive responses in regards to Mayor Davis executing his Strong Mayor Powers. For everything else that was polled, there was an overwhelming response calling for the continued input of Council and voters alike.

A Mix of Delegation and Collaboration

Mayor Davis was very intentional in his stance on these newly legislated Strong Mayor powers:
“… I did not see the need, with our current Council, to exercise any Mayor strong powers related to development matters.“
Mayor Davis plans to use a mix of delegation and collaboration to continue Brantford’s growth going forward:

• The CAO will oversee the City’s organizational structure and consult with the Mayor and council about reorganization. They would also be involved in the appointing / removing City Commissioners and solicitors.
• Mayor Davis will keep his authority to appoint / remove the CAO, but include council in the decision
• The Committee of the Whole (COW) will now provide quarterly updates on Human Resources (HR) matters, specifically focusing on the HR Master Plan and the People and Culture Report. This update ensures that Council maintains its ultimate authority and oversight over HR issues.
• HR staff will be responsible for creating these reports, which will include performance metrics for the City’s HR and Culture Master Plans.
• These changes establish a comprehensive system for overseeing HR matters and aim to provide Council with a more informed perspective.
• These adjustments are expected to improve Council’s understanding and oversight of the organization’s human resources and cultural development.
• Council will have the authority to create/change/dissolve committees
• The Mayor will include input from citizens, local stakeholders, and council on the budgeting process. 

Brantford’s Residential Development Ahead of the Curve

It doesn’t sound like #BigKev plans on executing his Strong Mayor Powers without collaboration from necessary parties. There may be a hesitation to get too heavy handed given there have been a few properties slated for development over his tenure that have come under scrutiny from various groups in Brantford.

The city is already leaps and bounds over neighbouring communities in terms of new construction starts. At it’s current pace, the city will hit 109% of it’s 10,000 new builds target by 2032. This would put Brantford inline to benefit from the Ford Government’s “Building Faster Fund” and places the city top of the list of other municipalities with Strong Mayors.

What Are Strong Mayor Powers in Ontario?

Council Committees

Every Strong Mayor has the following powers with respect to Council Committees that are composed of only Members of Council:

1. The power to establish or dissolve Committees.
2. The power to appoint the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of Committees.
3. The power to assign functions to Committees.

Strong Mayor Powers relating to the City Administration

1. The city’s CAO (chief administrative officer) can be appointed by the Mayor
2. Any “head of any division or the head of any other part of the organizational structure” can be appointed or dissmissed by the mayor. There are exclusions which are listed in the legislation.
3. The city’s organizational structure can be determined by the Mayor.
4. City staff can be directed by the mayor to research and provide advice to the Mayor and City Council on City policies and programs.

Power to introduce the City Budget

• The Mayor shall present a proposed City budget no later than February 1. If the Mayor does not present a proposed budget, this responsibility is forfeited to City Council.
• City Council has 30 days to amend the proposed budget after the Mayor presents it or may choose to shorten this period.
• The Mayor may veto Council amendments up to 10 days after Council adopts the amendment or may choose to shorten this period. If the Mayor does not exercise his veto the amended budget is deemed adopted.
• City Council may override the Mayor’s veto with a 2/3 vote up to 15 days later in which case the amended budget is deemed adopted.
• If Council does not exercise an override of the Mayor’s veto the proposed budget is deemed adopted.

Mayor’s Veto and Provincial Priorities

The Act introduces the power for the Mayor to veto a by-law if it could potentially interfere with a prescribed provincial priority (in-part or whole). The Mayor may also introduce new matters or a by-law without notice to a Council meeting in order to advance a provincial priority. Any by-law the Mayor presents requires a 1/3 vote of Council to pass.