Whether it wants it or not, the Town of Innisfil now has a strong mayor system.
Effective Oct. 31, Mayor Lynn Dollin was granted strong mayor powers by the Ontario government in exchange for her committing the town to build 6,300 new homes by 2031.
In making the commitment, Dollin told Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra that “the implementation of strong mayor powers would not be beneficial” to Innisfil and “our current council structure serves the best interests of our residents and allows for meaningful community engagement.”
Her pleas fell on deaf ears.
“I am pleased to inform you that as of Oct. 31, 2023, we have expanded strong mayor powers to heads of council of 18 municipalities who have committed to their housing target. This includes the Town of Innisfil,” Calandra wrote in a letter to the mayor. “Strong mayor powers are intended to provide the heads of council of our largest and fastest growing municipalities with tools to deliver on shared provincial-municipal priorities, such as housing, transit and infrastructure.”
Councillors received a copy of that letter in the agenda for the town’s Nov. 8 council meeting. At that time, Dollin told her colleagues that her she would delegate all the powers vested in her under the new system back to council or the chief administrative officer, as permitted by the province.
At the Nov. 22 meeting, council received an overview from deputy treasurer Audrey Webb of how the process will work with the one power Dollin can’t give to anyone else.
The introduction of strong mayor powers will change the way budgets are introduced and approved in Innisfil, councillors were told, however, attempts will be made to keep that process as similar as possible to what has been in place recently.
That started with the mayor directing staff to develop a process for updating the 2024 budget — the second year of the multi-year budget passed by council at the start of 2023 — that mirrored what happened in the past while adhering to the new provincial guidelines.
The goal is that the 2024 budget isn’t supposed to be re-opened for debate through this process, merely fine-tuned as necessary. Coun. Alex Waters wanted to know just how much change the mayor could implement.
“Under the strong mayor power, can the mayor take anything out of the budget we’ve already approved for (20)23-24?” Waters said.
Staff replied Dollin could make any changes she desires to the budget, up to and including presenting an entirely new document.
Waters also turned his attention to future budgets and just what say he and his fellow councillors would have for the second multi-year budget of their term, particularly on items that are requested for inclusion, but not deemed essential to the town’s operation for the coming year by staff.
“Last time staff brought us a budget with a wish list, and we either agreed with the original budget or we added those items under the wish list,” Waters said. “Will the mayor be involved in the preliminary budget that’s presented to council? If the mayor doesn’t like the wish list, she could at that time cut it from the budget and we never see it.”
Dollin insisted the 2025-26 budget process will be inclusive of all council and that they will see the document at the same time she does.
“Things just got a whole bunch more complicated, but I want to assure you, it will follow the process as closely as we can possibly make it,” she said. “Whether it would be called a workshop versus a meeting, or work on that budget and gain a consensus amongst the group together and then that would be the budget the mayor would present.”
CAO Oliver Jerschow looked to provide further clarity for the councillors.
“There are really two questions here: one, what is the mayor’s legal authority ... and then there is the question of what will the mayor do under that authority?” Jerschow said. “I would say that the legal authority is very broad for the mayor to add or delete whatever, but I think Mayor Dollin is saying she intended to work with council to the maximum extent possible.”
Under the new process, approval of the 2024 budget has essentially begun and should be official around the same time it would have been if there hadn’t been any legislative changes.
The legislation sets out a budget process that can last nearly two months from when the mayor introduces the budget. Within the next 30 days, council may amend the budget through resolution, amendments that may then be vetoed by the mayor before 10 days pass. Council then has another 15 days to override the veto with a two-thirds majority before the budget is deemed as passed.
For the 2024 Innisfil budget, staff laid out a timeline for councillors that should conclude by their Jan. 10 meeting.
Staff will review and update the 2024 budget up to Dec. 6, at which time the proposed budget would be published with the agenda for the Dec. 13 council meeting. During that week, council will direct their questions to staff and provide input into the mayor’s budget.
At the Dec. 13 meeting, discussion will be held on the budget and considerations will be officially suggested for inclusion. At a date to be determined following that meeting, the mayor will declare the budget and the council adjustment period will commence, continuing until at least the Jan. 10 meeting.
During that meeting, if all goes to plan, council will pass any resolutions for budget adjustments, agree to shorten the 30-day adjustment period and endorse the budget. The mayor’s stamp of approval would immediately follow.
The new process adds at least an extra step to the approval process and moves the finalized date into the new year. Staff ensured the mayor that the delay shouldn’t impact the municipality’s work in 2024.
