North and South Frontenac Speak Against Strong Mayor Powers

Jeff Green | Apr 30, 2025

When South Frontenac Council met to discuss the provincial directive granting the township strong mayor powers at their meeting on November 15, Mayor Vandewal led off the discussion.

“I don't like the wording in it. I don't really see the advantage in it,” he said. “The language in it, that Minister Flack sent down, said this is to help mayors with strong powers so it doesn't hold up any planning, or development, or priorities that the province has ... In my experience I would say the province can't blame rural councils for planning processes that can't get done. It's not our fault, we're not the hold up, the province is ... the way that I see council working, it's a democracy and I think you should get people to agree with you.”

He made specific reference to the Verona Housing project that the township has been working on bringing about, to the point of committing to not only planning, but financing it as well, and said that if it weren't for provincial hold-ups, the project would have been “built already”.

Other members of council expressed their dismay about the implications of the powers on their role on council.

Councillor Doug Morey expressed an opinion that was reiterated by the other members of council.

“Given what I've read here, these strong mayor powers don't leave any reason for the rest of the esteemed members sitting around this table to even be here. Honestly, everything that's there says to the mayor 'you set the direction, you set the budget, you veto the bylaws'. Why do we need other councillors, why do we need other staff around. The mayor can mix and match them however they wish.”

Mayor Vandewal stepped aside from the leading the meeting, passing the chair to Deputy Mayor Randy Ruttan, in order to make a motion to direct CAO Louise Fragnito to draft a letter to send to the province, expressing the council's “opposition to the proposed expansion of strong mayor powers to the township of South Frontenac.”

A letter was sent the following day to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and local MP John Jordan.

The letter pointed out that strong mayor provisions will erode local democracy, “put unnecessary stress in the working relationship between the mayor and the CAO and senior staff”.

The letter also projected a potential risk to township finances from the provision for a strong mayor to prepare and present budgets.

“Providing the mayor with the ability to set and table a budget for consideration could put a municipality in a difficult financial position for the future by either under-spending in the present, directing funds in a tunnel focus while other areas deteriorate or overspending today when it is not financially viable.”

In contrast, the letter pointed out how the current way of making long term decisions is based on a system that was also set out by previous provincial legislation:

“The province promotes and requires the use of asset management planning and growth forecasting. These should be the key tools that support decision making in the infrastructure investment and priorities of a municipality. It provides for decisions based on data and the financial forecast of a municipality’s needs.”

North Frontenac Township looked at Strong Mayor Powers at their regular meeting last Friday (April 25)

Mayor Lichty read out a motion that was prepared by the township of Tillsonburg and circulated to other Ontario municipalities for endorsement.

In discussing the motion, Lichty said he saw no need or benefit to the strong mayor powers in his case.

“I may not agree with everybody's position, but I respect what you say and the reasons you say it,” he said.

Similarly to what took place in South Frontenac, members of council wondered what their role would be under a strong mayor township.

Deputy Clerk/Planning Manager Tara Mieske had spent some time a day earlier, looking at the provincial directives. She pointed out that certain provisions, such as staff appointments and committee structures can be delegated to Council by a strong mayor. Others, including the requirement for the mayor to present a budget each year, have a work around.

In municipalities where these powers have been in place, she said, the mayor is able to ask staff to work on the budget document, which the mayor then presents to Council for amendment and approval, a process that closely mirrors what took place in those jurisdictions before the powers were imposed on them by the province.

Councilor Hermer had some concerns with the Tillsonburg motion, and Mayor Lichty said a made in North Frontenac motion, asking the province to rescind the powers would be preferable, and he presented wording for Council's consideration, which was accepted in a unanimous vote.

While the letters to the Frontenac mayors that arrived on April 9th provided for a comment period ending on April 16th, and many municipalities have expressed opposition before and after the 16th, the strong mayor powers have not been altered and are in place as of today.