People sometimes ask about the roles and responsibilities of the Mayor and Council. On the day of inauguration we all took an oath of office to carry out our responsibilities as outlined in the Municipal Act of Ontario. The Act is interesting to read, and you can access it by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.
Section 224 states the role of council as follows:
- To represent the public and to consider the well-being and interests of the municipality
- To determine which services the municipality provides
- To ensure that administrative policies, practices and procedures and controllership policies, practices and procedures are in place to implement the decisions of council
- To maintain the financial integrity of the municipality
- To ensure the accountability and transparency of the operations of the municipality, including the activities of the senior management of the municipality and
- To carry out the duties of council under this or any other act
Section 270 of the Municipal act requires municipalities to have policies on
- Sale and disposition of land; hiring of employees;
- Procurement of goods and services;
- When and how notice is provided to the public;
- How they try to ensure accountability and transparency to the public; and
- Delegation of powers and duties.
These are the tests we have to apply to all matters that come before us as councilors. Here is the link to the complete Municipal Act of Ontario.
