Burlington Council Unanimously Approves Having Staff Provide Mayoral Decisions Report Every Quarter
At our April 16 meeting, Burlington Council unanimously approved having staff provide Council and the public with a Quarterly Mayoral Decisions report -- essentially a quarterly summary of the Mayoral Decisions that are posted online in real time on the City's dedicated webpage.See the approved full motion from Council, My Take, and the associated staff report and supporting documents below — as well as additional background information further down this post.
APPROVED MOTION:
- Receive and file Office of the City Clerk report CL-11-24 providing the Quarterly Mayoral Decisions report.
MY TAKE:This is a key tool for us to ensure the community receives accurate information in regards to Mayoral Decisions under the new legislation, in a clear and transparent way. These Mayoral Decisions are already posted online on the City’s website. These staff-generated quarterly reports that are presented at committee and posted online as part of the meeting agenda, will give the public yet another way to access this information.
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To read the staff report and related supporting documents, please click/tap the links below:
- Staff report: CL-11-24 Mayoral Decisions.pdf
- Appendix: Appendix A - Mayoral Decisions to April 1 2024 CL-11-24.pdf
BACKGROUND:On March 26, 2024, Council passed the following resolution by way of motion memorandum Improving Local Democracy by Strengthening City Decision-Making (ADM-05-24):That the Clerk report to Council on a quarterly basis on the status of the use of the Strong Mayor Powers, beginning in April 2024This report will review the use of Strong Mayor powers through of the issuance of Mayoral Decisions made to date. Subsequent quarterly reports will review any decisionsmade from the previous quarter.Mayoral DecisionsMayoral power exercised or performed under Part VI.1 (“Special Powers & Duties of the Head of Council”) of the Municipal Act, 2001(“the Act”) must be provided in writing.The City of Burlington has adopted a Mayoral Decision document as a tool to fulfill the requirement of section 284.4 of the Act and recognizes Mayoral Decisions as a formal exercise of Strong Mayors powers. Mayoral Decisions are posted on the City’s Mayoral Decisions webpage.All Mayoral Decisions are considered Strong Mayor decisions as they are made using the powers given to the Mayor under Part VI.1 of the Act. These Decisions do not differentiate between decisions made with or without Council consultation.A total of 18 Mayoral Decisions have been issued between July 1, 2023 and April 1, 2024. The list is attached as Appendix A and includes any relevant documents related to the Decision. The inclusion of these documents is for information purposes only and do not reflect whether Council input was considered or not.The Mayor of the City of Burlington has special powers and duties conveyed by Part VI.1 of the Municipal Act, 2001. Any use of these powers must be documented in writing through a Mayoral Decision. Between July 1, 2023 and April 1, 2024 a total of 18 Mayoral Decisions have been issued by the Mayor.The Office of the City Clerk will continue to report back on the use of Strong Mayor powers quarterly.