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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBy-law 8049/23The Corporation of the City of Pickering By-law No. 8049/23 Being a by-law to amend Procedure By-law 8019/23, a by-law to govern the proceedings of Council, any of its Committees, the conduct of its Members, and the calling of Meetings Whereas subsection 238(2) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25, (the “Act”), provides that every municipality shall pass a procedure by-law for governing the calling, place and proceedings of meetings; And Whereas Procedure By-law #8019/23 was enacted by Council on June 26, 2023; And Whereas on September 8, 2022 and December 8, 2022, the Act was amended by Bill 3, Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022, and Bill 39, Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022 respectively, to grant special powers and duties to the Head of Council; And Whereas on July 1, 2023, the Act was further amended through O. Reg. 530/22, to grant the Heads of Council in 26 additional municipalities such special powers and duties, including the Head of Council for the City of Pickering; And Whereas the exercise of these special powers impact certain provisions of the Procedure By-law; Now therefore the Council of The Corporation of the City of Pickering hereby enacts as follows: 1.That By-law #8019/23 be amended by adding the attached Schedule “A” which shall form part of the By-law; By-law passed this 23rd day of October, 2023. ________________________________ Kevin Ashe, Mayor ________________________________ Susan Cassel, City Clerk Original Signed By Original Signed By By-law No. 8049/23 Page 2 Schedule “A” Attached to and forming part of By-law #8019/23 The following excerpts from the Municipal Act (the “Act”), pertaining to the exercise of the Special Powers and duties provided to the Mayor as the Head of Council for the City of Pickering, and the provisions that follow, are provided to inform Council and the public on the process to be carried out when the Special Powers are utilized. These Special Powers, commonly referred to as “Strong Mayor Powers”, are exercised under provincial legislation and take precedence over the normal rules of procedure outlined in this By-law, where applicable. 1.Directions to municipal employees Excerpt from the Municipal Act: 284.3 For the purposes of exercising powers or performing duties under this Part, the head of council may, in writing, exercise the powers of the municipality to direct municipal employees to, (a) undertake research and provide advice to the head of council and the municipality on policies and programs of the municipality or of the head of council as they relate to the powers and duties under this Part; and (b) carry out duties related to the exercise of the power or performance of the duty, including implementing any decisions made by the head of council under this Part. Procedural Provisions: 1.1 Should the Powers granted under section 284.3 of the Act be exercised, Section 27.02 of this By-law that requires direction to staff to be in the form of a motion shall not apply to the Mayor. 1.2 Direction to staff under the Strong Mayor Powers shall be in writing through a Mayoral Direction and provided to the Clerk and the CAO by the next business day for circulation to all Members of Council, and posting on the City’s website. 1.3 Direction to staff by the Mayor under this power to undertake research and provide advice, may include but are not limited to direction that staff report back and/or bring forward recommendations on a particular matter. 1.4 In these instances, staff may bring forward a Recommendation Report which shall be presented to the appropriate Standing Committee or Council, in accordance with the provisions of this By-law. 1.5 Should there be a By-law associated with the staff report and the Mayor indicates that the proposed By-law is being presented in accordance with subsection 284.11.1 of the Act, this will be indicated in the staff report and on the Council agenda in which the By-law is being presented. 1.6 In accordance with subsection 284.11.1(2) of the Act, Council is required to consider and vote on a By-law presented by the Mayor under the Strong Mayor Powers, and the By-law requires only one-third of the Members of Council (3 Members) to be adopted. See Section 5 of Schedule “A” for further details. 2.Powers regarding committees Excerpt from the Municipal Act: 284.8 Subject to the regulations, if any, the following powers of the municipality with respect to prescribed committees, or committees within a prescribed class of committees, are assigned to the head of council: 1. The power to establish or dissolve committees. 2. The power to appoint chairs and vice-chairs of committees. 3. The power to assign functions to committees. Procedural Provisions: 2.1 The Powers provided under subsection 284.8, and in accordance with O. Reg. 530/22, relate only to those committees that consist solely of Members of Council. For the City of Pickering, the only Committees comprised solely of Members of Council are the City’s two Standing Committees, the Executive Committee and the Planning & Development Committee. The Powers do not apply to the City’s Advisory Committees, Boards, or Taskforces. 2.2 Under the Act, the Mayor may choose to delegate these Powers, and if delegated, they may only be delegated to Council. 2.3 If the Mayor has delegated this Power to Council, the establishment, function and appointment of the Chairs of the Standing Committees are carried out in accordance with Sections 05.03 and 07.03 of this By-law which may be repealed, replaced or amended by Council from time to time. 3.Powers regarding meetings Excerpt from the Municipal Act: 284.10 (1) Despite any procedure by-law passed by the municipality under subsection 238 (2), if the head of council is of the opinion that considering a particular matter could potentially advance a prescribed provincial priority, the head of council may require the council to consider the matter at a meeting. Procedural Provisions: 3.1 Under subsection 284.10(2) of the Act, “meeting” has the same meaning as in subsection 238(1) of the Act and “Meeting” has the same meaning in this By-law. 3.2 The manner in which a matter may be brought forward by the Mayor under this section is not prescribed in the Act. 3.3 The matter could be verbal or written, and Council is required to consider the matter, which would occur at a Standing Committee or Council Meeting. Despite the provisions of this By-law, a matter introduced by the Mayor under their By-law No. 8049/23 Page 3 By-law No. 8049/23 Page 4 Special Powers shall be heard under the “Matters for Consideration” section of a Standing Committee or Special Council agenda or the “New and Unfinished Business” section of a Council Agenda. If the matter is provided to the Clerk prior to the publication of an agenda, the Clerk shall place the matter on the agenda as noted above. Should the Mayor bring forward a matter for Council’s consideration at a Standing Committee Meeting, the matter would be presented to the subsequent Council Meeting as part of that Standing Committee Report in accordance with Section 16 of this By-law. 3.4 As stated in the Act, the matter may be introduced despite any procedure by-law adopted by the municipality, and therefore Section 17.02 of this By-law shall not apply and there is no requirement for the Mayor to obtain the approval of Two- Thirds of the Members of Council present at a Meeting to introduce the matter. If using this power, the Mayor is also not obligated to follow the process outlined in Section 18 of this By-law as it pertains to Notices of Motion. 3.5 This special power allows for the Mayor to require Council to consider a matter, however, the disposal of the matter would be by way of a vote of Council and would require a majority of the members present at the Meeting to pass unless otherwise provided in this By-law. 3.6 Despite Section 27.01 of this By-law, the matter being presented by the Mayor under the Special Powers is not required to have a mover or seconder and shall be voted on at the request of the Mayor. 3.7 Despite section 3.6 above, and upon such time that the matter is before Council, the normal rules of procedure contained in this By-law shall apply. Any attempts to amend a matter proposed by the Mayor or propose a motion to refer or defer the matter shall require a mover and seconder and a majority vote of the Members present to pass unless otherwise provided in this By-law. 4.Veto powers Excerpt from the Municipal Act: 284.11 (1) This section applies with respect to by-laws under, (a) this Act and the regulations, other than under any prescribed section; (b)the Planning Act and its regulations, other than any prescribed section; and (c) any other prescribed Act or regulation or prescribed section of an Act or regulation. (2) Despite any procedure by-law passed by the municipality under subsection 238 (2) and subject to subsection (3) of this section, if the head of council is of the opinion that all or part of a by-law that is subject to this section could potentially interfere with a prescribed provincial priority, the head of council may provide written notice to the council of the intent to consider vetoing the by-law. Procedural Provisions: 4.1 At each Regular or Special Meeting of Council, the Mayor will be provided with a Mayoral Decision document indicating that they will not be using their power to veto any of the by-laws adopted at that Meeting, including the Confirmatory By- law. Once this Mayoral Decision is signed and submitted to the Clerk, all by-laws adopted at the Meeting are deemed to be passed. 4.2 If the Mayor chooses not to sign the Mayor Decision, or decides to exercise the special power of vetoing a By-law, the Mayor shall, in accordance with the Act, provide the intent to veto in a written veto document after the Meeting in which the By-law(s) was passed. 4.3 The Act requires the Mayor to give written notice of their intent to veto a by-law on or before the earlier of 2 days after the day Council voted in favour of the by- law. 4.4 The written intent to veto a By-law shall be provided to the Clerk, the CAO, all Members of Council, and posted publicly on the City’s website. 4.5 After the Mayor provides notice of their intent to veto a By-law, the Mayor has 14 days after the day Council voted in favour of the by-law to provide the Clerk with a written veto document. 4.6 The written veto document must include the veto and the reasons for the veto. 4.7 The Clerk shall provide the veto document to all Members of Council, the CAO, and the public, by the next business day after it is received. 4.8 If the Mayor vetoes a by-law, the by-law is deemed not to have been passed by Council. 4.9 Use of the veto Powers to veto a confirmatory by-law shall not negate all other proceedings or items that were adopted under such by-law except those that in the opinion of the Mayor could potentially interfere with a prescribed provincial priority. In such cases, all other matters aside from the one being vetoed, that were confirmed under the Confirmatory By-law for that Meeting, shall be carried out. 4.10 Within 21 days after the day the Clerk provides the written veto document to Council, the CAO, and the public, Council may override the Mayor’s veto if Two- Thirds of the Members of Council vote in favour of the override. Note: the legislation does not refer to Members of Council present and voting, but Members of Council as a whole. Two-Thirds of the total number of Members of Council equates to 5 of the 7 Members of Pickering Council. 4.11 The Mayor may vote as a Member of Council in a vote to override a veto. 4.12 If the override of the Mayor’s veto passes by the required Two-Thirds majority vote, the by-law shall be deemed to have passed on the day the Council votes to override the veto. 4.13 If the Mayor’s veto is not overridden, the by-law shall be deemed not to have been passed by Council, and it shall be indicated as such on the By-law for record keeping purposes. 4.14 If any of the timelines noted above expire, (e.g. the 2 days for the Mayor to give intent to veto, or the 14 days whereby the veto and the reasons for the veto are to be given to the Clerk), the Mayor may not exercise their power to veto the By- law, and the By-law is deemed to be adopted by the municipality on the day after the respective timeline has expired. 4.15 Should Members of Council wish to attempt to override the Mayor’s veto of a By- law, the matter would be carried out at a Special Meeting of Council. The calling of such Special Meeting would be either by the Mayor, or by way of a petition of a majority of the Members of Council in accordance with Section 05.04 of this By- law. By-law No. 8049/23 Page 5 By-law No. 8049/23 Page 6 4.16 The Clerk shall have the authority to amend the effective date of a by-law if necessary, should the Mayor exercise their power to veto the by-law and/or Council successfully overrides the Mayor’s veto. 5.Powers regarding by-laws Excerpt from the Municipal Act: 284.11.1 (1) This section applies with respect to by-laws under, (a)this Act and the regulations, other than under any prescribed section; (b) the Planning Act and its regulations, other than under any prescribed section; and (c) any other prescribed Act or regulation or prescribed section of an Act or regulation. (2) Despite any procedure by-law passed by the municipality under subsection 238 (2) and subject to any prescribed requirements, if the head of council is of the opinion that a by-law could potentially advance a prescribed provincial priority, the head of council may propose the by-law to the council and require the council to consider and vote on the proposed by- law at a meeting. (3) The head of council shall, in accordance with the regulations, provide to the clerk and to each member of council, (a) a copy of any by-law proposed under subsection (2); and (b) the head of council’s reasons for the proposal. (4) Despite any procedure by-law passed by the municipality under subsection 238 (2) and despite section 245, a by-law described in subsection (2) is passed if more than one third of the members of council vote in favour of the by-law. (5) For greater certainty, the head of council may vote as a member of council in a vote to pass a by-law described in subsection (2). Procedural Provisions: 5.1 Subsection 284.11.1 provides a special power for the Mayor to propose a by-law if in their opinion, it could potentially advance a prescribed provincial priority as described in O. Reg. 580/22. 5.2 In such instances, the Act requires that Council not only consider the by-law, but that they must vote on the proposed by-law. 5.3 In introducing a By-law, the Mayor must provide a copy of the by-law to the Clerk and all Members of Council along with the reasons for its proposal. 5.4 If the by-law can be provided to the Clerk prior to a Council Meeting, the Clerk shall include the proposed By-law on the appropriate Council agenda under the By-laws section with a notation that the By-law is being introduced under subsection 284.11.1 of the Act. 5.5 A by-law introduced under this special power is passed if more than one-third of the Members of Council vote in favour of the by-law. Despite Section 27.01 of this By-law, there is no requirement for the By-law to be moved or seconded prior to it going to a vote. The Council shall vote on the proposed by-law at the request of the Mayor. 5.6 As noted above in Section 4, Veto Powers, the legislation does not refer to Members of Council present and voting, but Members of Council as a whole. This results in the need for at least 3 of the 7 Members of Pickering Council to vote in favour of passing the by-law. 5.7 The Mayor may vote as a Member of Council in a vote to adopt a by-law proposed under this section of the Act. 5.8 Despite the need for only one-third of the Members to vote in favour of the by- law, the by-law must still be considered at a proper Meeting of Council which requires the need to obtain quorum to hold such meeting (4 of 7 Members). 5.9 Section 19.01 of this By-law shall not apply to by-laws introduced by the Mayor under the Strong Mayor Powers. In order that the minimum one-third vote can be ascertained to pass a by-law introduced under this section of the Act, the by-law shall be voted on separately. 5.10 Sections 19.02 and 19.03 of this By-law shall apply to all by-laws passed at a Meeting of Council, however, prior to the by-law being signed by the Mayor and the Clerk and sealed with the seal of the Corporation, it is not considered to have passed until such time that a Mayoral Decision to not exercise the Mayor’s ability to veto the by-law(s) has been signed by the Mayor, or the mandatory two days for the Mayor to give notice of their intent to veto the by-law(s) following the date of the Council resolution approving the by-law(s) has passed. 5.11 The Special Powers under this section of the Act do not apply to by-laws under Sections 238 (Procedure By-law), 290 (yearly budget for local municipalities), and 263 (filling vacancies on Council) of the Act. 5.12 A by-law presented under the Strong Mayor Powers cannot be deferred, referred, tabled, or amended and until a vote is taken on the by-law, a motion to adjourn would not be in order. 5.13 The Clerk shall have the authority to amend the effective date of a by-law if necessary, should there be a need to wait for the mandatory two days for the Mayor to give notice of their intent to veto the by-law. 6.Immunity Excerpt from the Municipal Act: 284.14 A decision made, or a veto power or other power exercised, legally and in good faith under this part shall not be quashed or open to review in whole or in part by any court because of the unreasonableness or supposed unreasonableness of the decision or exercise of the veto power or other power. Procedural Provisions: 6.1 Throughout the parts of the Act pertaining to Strong Mayor Powers, there are instances that speak to the use of the Powers if the Head of Council is of the opinion that it could advance or interfere with the Provincial Priorities as set out in O. Reg. 580/22. By-law No. 8049/23 Page 7 By-law No. 8049/23 Page 8 6.2 The Mayor as the Head of Council is the only individual who can decide how and when to exercise the Special Powers and there is no appeal process if a member of the public, staff or Council disagrees. 6.3 Section 24.13 of this By-law, Appeal of Decision of Chair, shall not apply to the Mayor’s decision to bring forward a matter or by-law in accordance with the provisions of the Special Powers under the Act. 7.Powers and duties regarding budget Excerpt from the Municipal Act: 284.16 (1) In accordance with this section and subject to the regulations, the powers and duties of a municipality with respect to proposing and adopting a budget are assigned to the head of council of the municipality. (2) The head of council shall, in accordance with the regulations, prepare a proposed budget for the municipality and provide the proposed budget to the council for the council’s consideration. Procedural Provisions: 7.1 In order to exercise the Special Powers relating to preparing and proposing a budget, the budget must be provided to all Members of Council, the Clerk and the public on or before February 1st of each year. The direction for staff to prepare the budget for the Mayor’s consideration, shall be communicated by way of a Mayoral Direction that shall be provided to Members of Council, the CAO, the Clerk, and posted publicly on the City’s website. 7.2 Should the Mayor not exercise their Powers to prepare and propose a budget by February 1st, they lose their Powers to veto any budget recommendations/ decisions adopted by Council. 7.3 Should the Mayor have a conflict under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act (MCIA) on a part of the budget, they are prohibited from using their Special Powers with respect to the matter in which they have the conflict. In these instances, Council would have control over the section of the budget in which the Mayor declares a conflict and Council may dispose of that section of the budget as it deems appropriate and the Mayor cannot veto the resolution in which they have declared a conflict. 7.4 It should be noted that if the Mayor intends on using this Special Power to propose and prepare the annual budget, and the budget is provided in accordance with the Act on or before February 1st, Section 05.03 c) of this By-law pertaining to the Executive Budget Meeting shall not apply and there is no requirement under the Act for the budget to be adopted by Council. 7.5 Upon notice from the Mayor that they will utilize their Special Powers to prepare and propose an annual budget, the Clerk shall not include the Executive Committee Budget dates on the annual Committee and Council Meeting Schedule as outlined in Section 05.03 c). If the notice from the Mayor occurs after the annual Meeting Schedule has been adopted, it shall be understood that the Executive Committee budget dates included on the Schedule will not take place and notice shall be provided to Council to cancel the Meeting in accordance with Section 06.03 of this By-law. 7.6 After receiving the proposed budget, and within 30 days, Council may pass a resolution to make an amendment(s) to the proposed budget. The 30-day time frame may be shortened by a resolution of the majority of the Members of Council at a Meeting. 7.7 Members of Council looking to bring forward an amendment(s) to the budget shall consult with the Director, Finance & Treasurer to understand the financial impacts of the proposed amendment(s). 7.8 The amendment(s) would be considered and disposed of at a Special Meeting of Council called either by the Mayor, or by way of a petition of a majority of the Members of Council in accordance with Section 05.04 of this By-law. Amendments to the proposed budget would require a majority vote of the Members present and voting to be carried. 7.9 If Council does not propose an amendment within 30 days of receiving the proposed budget, the budget is deemed to be adopted by the municipality. 7.10 If a Special Meeting is held to consider amendment(s) to the budget, after such Meeting, the Mayor may veto the resolution(s). 7.11 To exercise this special power of vetoing a budget resolution(s), the Mayor must, within 10 days after the expiry of the time period for Council to pass a resolution to amend the budget, or the shortened timeframe approved by Council, provide a written veto document that includes the veto and the reasons for the veto. The veto document shall be provided to the Clerk, CAO, and each Member of Council. The 10-day timeframe may be shortened by the Mayor if provided in writing through a Mayoral Decision which shall be provided to each Member of Council, the CAO, and the Clerk and posted publicly on the City’s website. 7.12 If the Mayor vetoes a budget resolution, the resolution shall be deemed not to have been passed by Council. If the Mayor does not veto a budget resolution, within 10 days, or the shorter period if set by the Mayor, the resolution stands and the amended budget is deemed adopted by the municipality. 7.13 In accordance with the Act, and if the Mayor exercises their right to veto, the veto may be overridden if Two-Thirds of the Members of Council (5 Members) vote to override it. A resolution to override the Mayor’s veto must be done within 15 days after the expiry of the time period for the Mayor to veto a budget resolution, or the shortened timeframe as the case may be. 7.14 The 15-day timeframe may be shortened by resolution of the majority of the Members of Council at a Meeting. 7.15 The attempt to override a veto of a budget resolution would be carried out at a Special Meeting of Council which would be called either by the Mayor or by way of a petition of a majority of the Members of Council in accordance with Section 05.04 of this By-law. As noted in earlier sections of this Schedule, the legislation does not refer to Members present and voting, but Members of Council as a whole. To obtain the required Two-Thirds vote, 5 of the 7 Members of Pickering Council would need to vote in favour to override the Mayor’s veto. The Mayor may vote as a Member of Council in a vote to override a veto. 7.16 If the veto of a resolution to amend the budget is not successfully overridden by Council, the budget is deemed to be adopted and the resolution to amend the budget shall be deemed not to have been passed by Council. By-law No. 8049/23 Page 9 By-law No. 8049/23 Page 10 8. General a)The use of the Special Powers and duties of the Mayor pertaining to the requirement for Council to consider a matter, consider and vote on a by-law, or to veto a by-law, are to be in keeping with the Provincial Priorities set out in O. Reg. 580/22. b)In accordance with Section 27.12 a) of this By-law, suspension of the rules does not apply to the use of the Strong Mayor Powers. c)If the Mayor exercises a power or performs a duty under the Special Powers of the Act, they shall do so in accordance with the Regulations. d)In the spirit of transparency, all Mayoral Directions and Decisions shall be posted publicly on the City’s website subject to any exceptions under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). e)The Mayor may delegate their Powers and duties with respect to the Chief Administrative Officer and Committees only to Council. f)The Mayor may delegate their Powers and duties with respect to the organizational structure of the municipality to Council or the Chief Administrative Officer if one is appointed. g)Should the Mayor be in the Chair, and wish to utilize their Special Powers to introduce a matter, they are not required to vacate the Chair as outlined in Section 03.02 j) of this By-law. h)The additional Powers and duties bestowed upon the Head of Council under the Act are not transferable and do not apply to a Deputy Mayor, Acting Mayor, or any other Member of Council as the case may be. i)Should a vacancy occur in the Office of the Head of Council, in accordance with the Act, the vacancy shall be filled through a by-election under the Municipal Elections Act and the Strong Mayor Powers would then be afforded to the newly elected Head of Council. j)Notwithstanding clause i) above, if the vacancy occurs after March 31st in the year of a regular election, the municipality shall fill the vacancy by appointing a person who has consented to accept the office if appointed. The Special Powers and duties in this instance shall not be given to the newly appointed Mayor or to the Council, and are therefore not allowed to be exercised until a new head of council is duly elected in the next regular election.