Essex council received a break down of what strong mayor powers would look like in the Town.
Council met Tuesday evening, with one report outlining how the by-laws, the process, and policies would work if they officially come into effect on May 1.
While mayor Sherry Bondy previously stated when this expansion of power was announced that she would opt-out of the powers, administration stated Tuesday that if these powers are formally granted by the province, that there is no "opt-out" option.
Any Legislative Powers connected to provincial priorities, such as housing, construction, and infrastructure would fall solely on the mayor.
Administrative Powers such as establishing and dissolving committees, appointing a chair and vice-chair of committees, appointing a CAO, or the hiring or dismissing division heads can be delegated to council if the mayor chooses.
Financial Powers such as proposing and adopting a budget is now the mayor's responsibility, however the mayor can forfeit that decision and have town administration prepare the budget.
Bondy has indicated to administration that should these powers come into effect, that Administrative Powers will be directed to council, and the power to hire and dismiss division heads will be delegated to the CAO.
Bondy says she's sad to see other mayors who are fearful to speak against the powers.
"When you talk to mayors, they're like 'we don't want it, we see all the cons, but we don't want to be outspoken about it because the provincial government is going to be mad at us'. And I think that that is a real degradation of democracy that is happening."
Councillor Kim Verbeek says she appreciates mayor Bondy for taking a stand.
"I've heard from many other elected officials in many other municipalities at AMO and other conferences that the fear of retaliation from pushing back against this current provincial government is real."
Councillor Jason Matyi thanked mayor Bondy for speaking out against this.
"I haven't heard anybody that supports these powers yet. Almost everybody that I talk to talk about how it's a blow to our democracy, and that it's almost a slap in the face. And the fact that other leaders don't have the strength to stand up and oppose it is really saddening."
Earlier this month, the Ontario government announced the expansion of strong mayor powers to leaders in 169 more municipalities, which would give mayors the ability to override some council decisions, fire and hire senior staff, veto bylaws among more.
The report was received for information.
Council had sent a formal letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford asking that Essex not be included in the expansion.
A copy of the letter was also sent to Rob Flack, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, all four local MPPs, AMCTO, and AMO.