Proposed Expansion To Strong Mayor Powers

Media Release- Township of Stone Mills has been named as one of the municipalities proposed to receive Strong Mayor Powers effective May 1, 2025.

The province on Ontario has announced that it is proposing to expand Strong Mayor Powers to an additional 169 municipalities in Ontario including Township of Stone Mills, starting May 1, 2025.  These powers are being implemented under the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022 and Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022, as part of an effort to support provincial priorities such as speeding up housing and infrastructure development. Under the Strong Mayor Powers, the Mayor/Reeve has the following special powers and duties as the head of Council:

• Appointing the municipality’s Chief Administrative Officer.
•  Hiring certain municipal department heads and establishing and reorganizing departments.
•  Creating committees of Council, assigning their functions and appointing the chairs and vice-chairs of committees of Council.
• Proposing the municipal budget.
• Vetoing certain bylaws if the Mayor/Reeve is of the opinion that all or part of the by-law could potentially interfere with a provincial priority.
•  Bringing forward matters for Council consideration if the Mayor/Reeve is of the opinion that considering the matter could potentially advance a provincial priority.

A comprehensive report outlining the Townships legislative obligations and next steps will be presented at a future Council meeting.

Want to weigh in?

🗣️ The Province is accepting public comments on this change until Wednesday, April 16. Submit your feedback here: https://www.ontariocanada.com/registry/view.do?postingId=50013&language=en

For the official release on the proposal to expand strong mayor powers please visit the Province of Ontario newsroom.