‘Underhanded’ move
Charlottetown city council moves to limit the power of incoming mayor Philip Brown
There is a powerplay underway at Charlottetown city hall, and the loser may very well be incoming mayor Philip Brown.
Brown will officially be sworn in as mayor on Thursday along with the rest of his new council.
The next order of business for Brown should be naming his executive team, selecting which councillors will serve on and chair the city’s standing committees.
But, the outgoing council has given first reading to a procedural bylaw that would change all of that. It would, for the first time, take control of naming standing committee and their chairs out of the mayor’s hands.
In the end, the new Municipal Government Act is to blame.
The act calls for council to establish an advisory committee which will recommend the terms of reference and council appointments.
This advisory committee would consist of the mayor, two members of council (nominated and appointed by motion of council) and the chief administrative officer in an advisory non-voting capacity.
The committee would establish all committee mandates, terms, objectives, tasks, duties and responsibilities on any matter of which council has requested.
Brown would still have the authority to appoint a deputy mayor.
When contacted Monday, Brown said he wanted to reserve comment until council made its decision.
“I don’t want to interfere with this council’s powers,’’ Brown said. “If they’re trying to rush it through, then so be it. I’ll wait until the dust settles to make further comment or give further input.’’
The changes were discussed Friday and will come before council again during a noon-hour meeting today.
Deputy Mayor Mike Duffy, who chaired Friday’s council meeting and will chair today’s, said section 86 (2) of the Municipal Government Act calls for all councils Islandwide to do the same thing.
Duffy added the act gives councils one year to act from Dec. 23, 2017.
“That means we have until the 22nd of December, 2018, to come forth with a procedural bylaw,’’ Duffy said Monday. “We have no choice but to follow out the instructions as laid out in that act, and that’s what we’re doing.’’
Duffy acknowledges it limits the
I don’t want to interfere with this council’s powers … If they’re trying to rush it through, then so be it. I’ll wait until the dust settles to make further comment or give further input.’’ Philip Brown
power of the mayor who has historically named the committees and the chairs.
“Oh, it does, it does. For time eternal, it’s been done by the mayor, but it definitely was not the call of city council, it was the call of the provincial government,’’ Duffy said.
Coun. Bob Doiron said it’s an “underhanded” move for the current council to do days before Brown takes office.
“I find it pretty disappointing that council would do that,’’ Doiron said. “I find that this is just starting off on a bad note. The mayor is the mayor of the city, he represents the majority of the city, he’s earned that title . . . and we have to work with him.’’
Duffy admitted council is taking care of this issue at the last minute.
“We should have done this a long time ago,’’ Duffy said.