City is one of 26 places where the leader got new responsibilities on July 1
Bryan Paterson’s first move as a “strong mayor” was to give up some of his new powers.
Kingston’s top elected official said on Wednesday that he is giving back some of the new powers the province gave him on July 1 to his council colleagues and the city’s chief administrative officer (CAO).
He said, “I’m trying to show the council and the staff that we’re doing good work together.””I don’t want to get in the way of that.”
Steve Clark, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, said that the city’s mayor was given more tools to help get shovels in the ground so that more homes could be built. The city is one of 26 large or fast-growing municipalities in Ontario.
The law caused a lot of debate, including in Ottawa, where Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he didn’t want to use the new powers.
When these new powers were first announced, Paterson didn’t say right away that he wouldn’t use them.
At the time, councillors like Brandon Tozzo, who represented Kingscourt-Rideau, spoke out against the province’s decision, saying that Kingston didn’t need the extra abilities.
“On principle, it’s undemocratic. Voters have spoken. And rule by the minority goes against the way our democratic institutions work,” Tozzo tweeted at the time.
On Wednesday, the councilman said that Paterson’s decision to give some of them back “encouraged” him.
That includes giving the CAO the power to decide how the city is organized and the right to hire or fire any division head, which was previously only the mayor’s job.
The mayor has also said that councillors, not just him, will be able to hire or fire the CAO, set up or get rid of committees, choose their chairs, and decide what they do.
Paterson said that he can’t give away his right to veto or his ability to control the budget.
The mayor also said that he could take back the powers he had given to council and staff.
“If I thought it would be good for the community, I would think about taking back one of those powers. I just don’t think that’s going to happen soon,” he said.
“Let’s get housing built. Let’s work together to deal with the problems and issues in our community.”
The mayor said that whenever he uses his new powers, a written version of his decision will be posted on Open Data Kingston within 24 hours.