HALDIMAND—Haldimand County Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley is among 21 mayors granted strong mayor powers in an announcement made by Premier Doug Ford at this week’s Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference held in London, Ontario.
The newly appointed strong mayors largely hail from more rural communities like Haldimand, with Norfolk Mayor Amy Martin also amongst those announced in addition to mayors from Kawartha Lakes, Innisfil, Greater Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Belleville, Halton Hills, Woodstock, Aurora, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Whitchurch-Stouffville, New Tecumseth, Georgina, Peterborough City, East Gwillimbury, Welland, Sault Ste. Marie, Chatham-Kent, North Bay, and Sarnia. These new strong mayor powers come into effect on October 31 when they officially join 28 other municipalities who were previously granted the abilities.
The powers, aimed squarely at ramping up development activity across the province, grant Bentley the ability to propose housing-related bylaws and pass them with only one-third of Council’s support, veto bylaws that conflict with provincial priorities, and gives her direct control over the drafting of municipal budgets.
Additionally, with these powers Bentley can now appoint or dismiss managers and department leaders within Haldimand’s administration, up to and including the Chief Administrative Officer.
In addition to the extended strong mayor powers across Ontario, the provincial government has announced a new, $1.2 billion Building Faster Fund.
To access the fund, a housing pledge must be provided from the head of council to meet population growth targets set by the province.
According to a government press release, The Building Faster Fund will “provide $400 million in new annual funding for three years to municipalities that are on target to meet provincial housing targets by 2031. Municipalities that reach 80% of their annual target each year will become eligible for funding based on their share of the overall goal of 1.5 million homes. Municipalities that exceed their target will receive a bonus on top of their allocation.”
On the flipside, municipalities who fail to meet provincial targets on an annual basis will receive nothing from the fund.
“There is an urgent need to get more homes built quickly across Ontario,” said Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark. “By providing additional financial resources to our municipal partners, as well as strong mayor powers to help speed up the approvals process, our government is acting decisively to tackle Ontario’s housing supply crisis and build the homes our residents need and deserve.”
The Press reached out to Mayor Bentley and Haldimand CAO Cathy Case for their thoughts on the announcement, but with both in attendance at the AMO Conference they were unable to reply ahead of the publication deadline.
Stay tuned to next week’s Press for additional information about the impact of the new strong mayor powers and the Building Faster Fund in Haldimand County.
