Innisfil has committed to building 6,300 new homes by 2031, but Mayor Lynn Dollin has told the Ontario government in no uncertain terms she and council are opposed to the strong mayor powers that could come with that agreement.
“I do not believe that the implementation of strong mayor powers would be beneficial for our community,” Dollin wrote in a letter dated Oct. 13 to Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra.
“We believe that our current council structure serves the best interests of our residents and allows for meaningful community engagement,” the letter continued. “Our council has consistently demonstrated that we are growth-friendly, and we will continue to work together to meet these targets.”
In an interview Thursday, following the Oct. 26 council meeting where her response to the minister was received as information, Dollin said she wanted to convey how she feels council can best serve Innisfil’s residents as a collective, rather than with one person calling the shots.
“I wanted the minister to know that I really felt we have better success working together as a team than me trying to do it all in opposition to council,” she said.
At the Sept. 27 council meeting, town staff walked councillors through the new provincial housing target for the town, the Building Faster Fund (BFF) and possibly becoming a municipality with a strong mayor system of municipal government.
Opposition to the latter was seemingly unanimous.
“Last time I checked, Ontario was a democracy and we were all elected under that,” Coun. Alex Waters said at the September meeting. “Each one of us has one vote to determine the future of Innisfil and we all have our say in terms of what goes on.”
Dollin stated during that meeting if she was given strong mayor powers she wouldn’t utilize them, a position she reiterated Thursday.
“Even if they are granted, it’s my intention to continue working with council the way we always have, the way I always have, and the way other mayors have with me for the last 29 years,” she said.
Between Sept. 27 and Oct. 13 — the date when she emailed the letter to Calandra — Dollin met with every member of council to talk through their concerns about what was being asked of the municipality and what the town’s options were.
To have access to the BFF, Dollin needed to respond in writing to a letter from the province committing the town to add 6,300 new homes in the municipality by 2031. If that occurred by Oct. 15, then by the end of the month, Innisfil could be one of 21 new municipalities to be governed under a strong mayor system.
Staff anticipated that the town’s portion of the BFF would be about $1.7 million annually.
Somewhat ironically, strong mayor-like powers were already instilled through this process, as the mayor could send the letter to commit to the targets without the consent of council. Ultimately, Dollin’s letter to Calandra was based on the consensus found among the nine members of council.
“The consensus we built in the group was to accept the challenge because we do think it is achievable and it is within the realm of the way we’re building now,” Dollin said. “Let’s not cut off our nose to spite our face. Let’s not say no to the housing target, which we are planning on building anyway, and alienating ourselves with this government.”
In September, councillors were told the 6,300 homes target was ambitious, but doable, particularly with some of the developments coming online in the coming years, including traditional subdivisions in Alcona and the Orbit development.
Council mostly had to consider the impact on Innisfil residents if it dug its heels in on the strong mayor issue and its opposition to it in principle. The municipality – and the other 49 potentially receiving strong mayor powers – weren’t dealt the cards they’re playing with, the mayor said, but they still have to play those cards and work within the rules put in front of them.
“If we said no to building the homes when we had full intention of building them anyway, just so we wouldn’t receive the strong mayor powers, in the end that would do Innisfil a disservice,” Dollin said. “We can’t say to the province ‘we’re not going to build any homes, oh by the way, can we have a GO (Transit) train station and a hospital?’”
Even though Dollin has essentially requested Innisfil be skipped over for the strong mayor powers, she could have them by the Nov. 8 meeting of council. In that case, Dollin has said she discussed with council and staff how to delegate everything she possibly can to keep things as status quo regarding the running of the municipality as possible.
Waters lauded the mayor at the Oct. 26 meeting after being one of the fiercest critics of the powers back in September.
“We had a very good discussion on the strong mayor powers and I think you listened to us and I think your letter reflects that,” Waters said. “Even though we’re accepting the targets, you did say that we would work better as a council as opposed to having strong mayor power, so I do appreciate you listening to us and putting that in writing to the minister.”
— With files from Village Media
