Council has agreed to delegate “executive authority” to the township’s chief administrative officer (CAO) in the event of a “lame duck” council in connection with this fall’s municipal election.
According to the Municipal Act, a council becomes a lame duck, which means it is restricted in its ability to act, when a new council “will include less than three-quarters of the members of the outgoing council.”
That means a council can become a lame duck during the period between election day and the end of the term (in this case from Oct. 25 to Nov. 30), but also between nomination day (Sept. 10) and election day if the slate of candidates does not include 75% of the outgoing council.
Under lame duck status, council can not:
– appoint or remove from office any officer of the municipality;
– hire or dismiss township employees;
– sell municipal property with a value greater than $50,000; or
– make any expenditures or incur any other liability exceeding $50,000.
So last week council approved a bylaw that “delegates executive authority” to CAO?Patty Sinnamon in the case of a lame duck council.
The bylaw stipulates that prior to making any decision, the CAO will discuss the matter with the sitting council, which must provide a two-thirds consensus.
However, if an emergency precludes consultation with council, the CAO?will proceed with the decision and inform council “at the earliest convenience and incorporate any subsequent permissible revisions.”
Sinnamon previously told council not being able to hire new staff “has the potential to cause difficulties and negatively impact the day-to-day operations of the municipality.”
She explained the hiring of winter maintenance staff usually occurs early in the fall and the township is also looking to hire an administrative assistant and may not fill the position until after nomination day.
But perhaps the biggest concern is the possibility of a contract being awarded for the construction of an additional lagoon cell at the township’s wastewater treatment plant near Drayton.
