Open Letter to Burlington City Council and the Community on Democracy, Governance and Pressing Reset

Mayor's Office
Written By

*Please see below an open letter to Council and the community from Mayor Marianne Meed Ward.Memorandum to: Burlington City Council, Staff, and the CommunityFrom: Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed WardRe: Democracy, governance and pressing reset April 10, 2024Dear colleagues,As you are aware, effective July 1, 2023, the Province extended new powers and duties to the Mayor as Head of Council to any municipality that had previously accepted a housing pledge. In March 2023, Council unanimously endorsed the housing target of 29,000 units assigned to the City of Burlington by the Province. There was no ability for municipalities or Mayors to “opt out” of this legislation; it was automatically assigned to those municipalities that had accepted a housing pledge.Three of the new powers and duties under the legislation can be delegated to staff or Council. Most cannot and are now established powers and duties of the Mayor as the Head of Council and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation under The Municipal Act, 2001.I am committed to fulfilling these required responsibilities to the best of my ability and with the primary goal of serving the best interests of our community.It has appeared to me to be politically performative to delegate the three powers noted in the legislation, as these can be undelegated at any time. I believe it is more transparent and accountable to openly acknowledge these powers and duties exist, and then work with staff and our community to determine how we will govern together in this new context.The legislation has been in effect in our community for the last eight months, and these duties over that time have been fulfilled in a collaborative, transparent and accountable way, with decisions posted online as required by the legislation, and reviewed quarterly by Council. I have confidence that will continue.You can see the full list of Mayoral Decisions on the City of Burlington’s webpage at Burlington.ca/mayoraldecisionsYou can review the list of Mayoral Decisions by Ontario municipality at opencouncil.ca/strong-mayor-powers-ontarioOf the 44 municipalities that have received the additional powers and duties under the legislation, 12 Mayors delegated all duties that could be delegated, 16 delegated none of the duties, and 16 delegated some of them.It is appropriate to periodically review how we are governing together in this new context, and the transition of the City Manager/Chief Administrative Officer (hereinafter referred to as the CAO) has provided an opportune time for that review. It was important to complete the recruitment process, that began last October with the departure announcement of our current CAO. The imminent arrival of our new CAO, who understands and embraces strategic, people and operational leadership, has provided an opportunity to look ahead to our future, and take the time to consider responsibly delegating some of these new duties.I have welcomed this opportunity and dialogue.Delegation of DutiesA summary of what can be delegated, under Section 284.13 of The Municipal Act, 2001, and what has been delegated, guided by Section 6 “Limitations on Delegation” of Ontario Regulation 530/22, is below. The delegation decisions will be posted on the Mayoral Decisions City webpage, and shared with the community along with this explanatory memo.

  1. Section 284.5 (appoint a chief administrative officer). Limitation: Can be delegated only to Council. Not delegated.
  2. Section 284.6 (organizational structure and staffing)
    1. (1) Organizational structure. Limitation: Can be delegated to Council or the CAO. Delegated to the new CAO effective their start date of April 22, 2024 -- Mayoral Decision 09-24 - Delegate Organizational Structure
    2. (2) Hire or dismiss staff. Limitation: Can be delegated to Council or the CAO. Delegated to the new CAO effective their start date of April 22, 2024 -- Mayoral Decision 08-24 - Delegate Employment Matters
  3. Section 284.7 (select Chair/Vice Chair of any prescribed local boards or classes of local boards). To date, no local boards or classes of local boards have been prescribed by the Province through a Regulation. Until the Province identifies local boards or classes of local boards through a Regulation, a Mayor as Head of Council does not have any power to appoint chairs and vice-chairs of any local boards. Per our Corporation Counsel, there is nothing to delegate at this time.
  4. Section 284.8 (establish committees of council). Limitation: Can be delegated only to Council. Delegated to Council. Effective April 22, 2024 -- Mayoral Decision 07-24 - Delegate Committees.

Rationale1. Regarding the Chief Administrative Officer:The City of Burlington will have a new CAO effective April 22, 2024. The extensive search for the CAO began in October 2023, with the participation of City Council, City staff, community leaders, and led by an external search firm. The process included an open call for applicants via public postings of the position, and collaboration and consultation with Council members who participated in developing the job description and role competencies, selecting the short list of candidates, and participating in the interviews with candidates. If, and when, the time comes to recruit a new CAO, a similar process would be followed.The Mayor has unique roles in The Municipal Act as Head of Council and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, that existed prior to the recent changes in legislation. Additionally, the Mayor is the only member of Council elected by the entire city. As such, the Mayor has a unique relationship with the CAO, and it is essential for the good of the community and the Corporation this relationship be compatible.The short- and long-term priorities of the CAO will be driven by Council's strategic plan and shared with Council annually to ensure there is alignment between the Mayor, Council and CAO in terms of key priorities. This will ensure a collaborative process to set priorities and provide input on performance.Should the Mayor choose to direct the CAO (or any other staff member) to take action, the legislation requires this to be publicly posted on the Mayoral Decisions page. There is no similar transparency requirement for Council members to publicly post any requests they may give to staff.I have every confidence in the professionalism of our CAO and all of our civil servants that if they receive a request from a member of Council, they would provide their best professional advice, suggest practical alternatives where appropriate, and/or request the member of Council put their request of staff into a staff direction for consideration by Council.It is the responsibility of every one of us on Council, individually and collectively, to foster a respectful workplace and culture, where staff are welcomed and supported to fulfill their responsibilities and provide their professional advice to us, publicly and privately.For the most part, Council members have conducted themselves in a respectful manner towards staff and have brought any directions to staff into the open via a public staff direction for democratic vote by their colleagues. In fact, this is a requirement of our Council Code of Good Governance, Section 17, specifically:

  • “We will respect the relative roles of Council to govern, and staff to manage. We will not direct staff, attempt to influence their professional advice to Council, and will not make public comments that impugn their performance. We will actively create and sustain an environment where staff are comfortable providing their professional advice to Council, even when it may be difficult or controversial.”

It is of vital importance the role between governance (Council) and management (City administration) be clearly defined and respected. The incoming CAO has a track record of effective and often transformative leadership in ensuring alignment between strategy, structure, and people. To be very clear, the CAO should operate with the confidence of the Mayor and Council and retains responsibility for City administration and operations. The CAO is Council’s sole liaison for the administration; all staff at the City, in turn, work for and are accountable to the CAO.Retaining decision-making regarding the CAO with the Mayor, as outlined in the legislation, helps to circumvent the potential for undue pressure behind the scenes by any member of Council; maintains public transparency, given that any direction given to the CAO by the Mayor must be documented and publicly posted; and recognizes the roles and responsibilities uniquely held by the Mayor that pre-date the recent legislation.Collaborative governance is maintained in that the Mayor and Council may still, by majority vote in Council session, direct staff and the CAO to take action. That preserves democracy, transparency, and accountability.2. Regarding Organizational Structure and Staffing -- (Mayoral Decision 08-24 - Delegate Employment Matters / Mayoral Decision 09-24 - Delegate Organizational Structure)The legislation provides the option to delegate the organizational structure and staffing to Council or the CAO. Delegating this responsibility to the CAO and not to Council avoids the politicization of the civil service and respects the role of the CAO to exercise general control and management of the affairs of the City of Burlington.It also further reinforces our commitment under the Council Code of Good Governance, Section 17, to “respect the relative roles of Council to govern and staff to manage,” under the direction of the CAO.The CAO will determine the most appropriate way to consult Council in these matters. This delegation will take effect on the new CAO’s start date.3. Regarding Chairs/Vice-Chairs of Local BoardsAs noted above, until the Province identifies local boards or classes of local boards through a Regulation, a Mayor as Head of Council does not have any power to appoint Chairs and Vice-Chairs of any local boards. Per consultation with our Corporation Counsel, there is no power or duty that can be delegated at this time.4. Regarding Establishing Committees of Council -- (Mayoral Decision 07-24 - Delegate Committees)The legislation provides the option to delegate establishing or dissolving committees; appointing Chairs and Vice-Chairs of committees; and assigning functions to committees. This applies only to committees consisting solely of Council members, of which there are three: Committee of the Whole (and its subsections), Budget, and Council Workshop.Given that Council has, by unanimous vote, already established the committees of Council, appointed Chairs/Vice-Chairs (modified once by Mayoral Decision 08-2023), and assigned their functions for the balance of the term, delegating these duties to Council is redundant.Nevertheless, Council may wish to make changes to the existing structure, and so the duties with respect to existing committees have been delegated to Council with the following guidance, to ensure respectful and collaborative decision-making:

  • that the current Chair and Vice-Chair agree to any changes to their roles;
  • that changes to existing committees proceed in the normal fashion via a reconsideration as prescribed in the Procedure By-law; and
  • In the event an Integrity Commissioner finding recommends removing a Chair or Vice-Chair, that would take precedence.

Establishment of new committees, functions and Chairs/Vice-Chairs has also been delegated to Council, with the following guidance to respect staff capacity:

  • that the CAO confirm whether there is capacity for a new committee; and
  • if capacity does not exist, that alternatives may be suggested for Council to consider.

That completes the delegation decisions, as no other duties under The Municipal Act can be delegated and remain the sole responsibility of the Mayor as the Head of Council and CEO of the Corporation. I will continue to fulfill these duties with the primary consideration of serving in the best interests of the community.Respectful Governance and Pressing ResetUnfortunately, there has been much speculation, rumour, fear-mongering and misinformation circulating in the community: about the nature of these new responsibilities; about how they might have been used, or could be used; and about the role of Councillors - that the Mayor now runs the City and Councillors are observers.This misinformation has hampered our ability as a Council and the community to have the thoughtful, respectful, and fact-based review about this new way of governing together that I was hoping to have, just as our new CAO joins us.As a result, the last few weeks have been difficult for staff, the community and Council.It is time to press the reset button.For the sake of our community, we have an opportunity with a new CAO starting, and new senior leadership staff coming on board, to recommit to each other, and to current and future staff, to work together in a respectful, collaborative manner – including, and perhaps especially, when we disagree.Differences of perspective are welcomed. A variety of opinions strengthens our conversations. Debate and discussion that is informed by facts and evidence, and values opinions that are different from our own, are the hallmarks of a strong democracy.We each have a role to play in ensuring that information about the new legislation, or indeed any matter before Council, is accurately and respectfully conveyed to the community, and that we treat each other with professionalism, respect and accuracy.Let us each recommit to fulfilling this role for the balance of our term together, to do our part not to spread – and to actively stamp out – rumours, misinformation, and speculation when we hear them; to convey accurate information to our community about the decisions of Council; and to express our opinions about these matters in a way that is respectful of each other, and staff. This is in keeping with our Council Code of Good Governance Sections 10, 11, 13, 17 and 18.This includes accurately and respectfully conveying the decisions outlined here, and any opinions you may have about them.I trust that we will all do our part, as we continue to govern together in the best interests of our residents.Sincerely,Mayor Marianne Meed WardCity of BurlingtonRelated Links:

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