Repeal Strong Mayor law, council says
Ford urged to dump undemocratic, flawed legislation
Trent Hills council has written a strongly worded resolution to Premier Doug Ford calling the Strong Mayor Powers legislation undemocratic, unnecessary and fundamentally flawed.
Council urged Ford to repeal the legislation, which was applied to Trent Hills, Brighton, Cobourg and more than 166 other municipalities on May 1. Failing that, the town asked that our municipality be removed from the list of places where the legislation applies.
As I wrote in early May, Mayor Bob Crate said from the beginning that he saw no need for such powers here and he didn’t plan to use them. He designated back to council most of the power set out in the law.
The law was passed by the province because Ford argued mayors need the power to hire and fire senior staff and to override council decisions in order to meet provincial housing targets.
Crate pointed out that small municipalities including Trent Hills don’t have provincial housing targets, do not have red tape that delays development and had no need for the law.
After a staff review of the law, council passed the new resolution in part because they realized that as it exists the law could complicate the budget setting process since it sets out certain requirements and powers for the mayor.
The resolution says the strong mayor law fundamentally alters “local democratic governance by concentrating decision-making authority in a single individual, thereby weakening the role of elected councils and disrupting the principles of collaboration and shared leadership.”
As well, it says these powers “may create uncertainty within municipal organizations, negatively affect staff morale, and risk undermining the trust that is fundamental to effective and transparent municipal governance.”
It says: “The primary barriers to housing construction are not rooted in municipal decision-making processes, but in broader market conditions, infrastructure constraints, and the lack of effective provincial and federal policy supports to stimulate affordable and attainable housing development.”
Former arena site sold for $275,000
The former Campbellford arena site has been sold to a numbered development firm for $275,000.
Council passed a bylaw transferring the property to 1001062449 Ontario Ltd. It passed a bylaw last November declaring the site surplus to the municipality’s needs and setting the sale in motion. The sale has only been discussed in closed session.
An adjacent site is currently going through the development and planning process.
Town given ownership of its own road
Some councillors were a bit puzzled when asked to support a motion that the town take ownership of Concession Road 1 East, which runs west off County Road 30 just south of the Pine Ridge Golf and Country Club.
The road, which was in Percy Township, has been maintained by the municipality since it was created by amalgamation and is considered a municipal road, but apparently it is on private property.
Councillor Rob Pope asked Planning and Development Director Jim Peters to explain.
“You want a history lesson?” Peters asked.
The simple explanation, Peters said, is that when Ontario shifted from its historic property system of a land registry to a more secure land title system some paperwork never got carried out properly.
Peters said the town has run into this problem in the past, for example, with Devil’s Valley Road. It usually occurs when a road was not built according to the grid system, often due to avoiding hills or waterways. Ownership of the actual roadway was not always transferred or legally established.
So, the town has developed a policy of working with homeowners who want to transfer the property to the municipality. It agrees to pay half the cost of a survey if the landowner prepares the transfer documents. In this case, it is paying about $5,800.
You can read all Trent Hills News stories on my website here.
I disagree strongly, our Mayor has an advisory committee to assist him. We the taxpayers expect our councillors to assist the Mayor in decision making. Ford needs to go one step further and have a team from the Province come out and see if the Municipality’s are acting in the best interest of the tax payers. A team similar to the examination of school boards. Asset management is of little use if there is no one to see it it is done correctly. Case in point is Trent Island numerous water main breaks and the Mayor says no money unless the province comes through.