Burlington City Clerk's Office Launches Mayoral Decisions Webpage

In a public Council Information Package published on July 7, 2023, there is an item from our City Clerk breaking down the Strong Mayor Powers recently announced by the Province of Ontario.As part of these new tools, the City also has a new bylaw approval process. The Mayor has the ability to veto any new bylaws and as a result, if the Mayor does not exercise this veto, they must make a note stating so that would need to be signed.The City Clerk's memo notes: "This practice will allow staff to waive the two-day cooling off period, and action by-laws immediately. The written approval constitutes a decision of the Mayor and will be posted to the City’s Mayoral Decision webpage."Provincial legislation states the decisions made by the Mayor are captured in writing, and are to made publicly available. As part of this, staff have created a Mayoral Decisions webpage to support transparency in this process, and make the information accessible to the public. Staff will be updating this webpage as they receive Mayoral decisions. Link to Mayoral Decision Webpage: www.burlington.ca/mayoraldecisionsSince the rules dictate I must make a note in the event I do not exercise a veto to any new bylaw, you will begin seeing this reflected on the new City webpage created, starting after Council approves any new bylaws at our meeting next Tuesday (July 11).Staff are also working on a report to present at the Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk & Accountability (CSSRA) Committee meeting on Sept. 11, 2023. The report will provide a fulsome review of the provincial legislation, how it will affect the City of Burlington, and furtherinformation on implementation.