Council

The role of Council

In Ontario, a council is required to have a minimum of five members, one of whom is the Head of Council. The role of council is outlined in section 224 of the Municipal Act:

• To represent the public and to consider the well-being and interests of the municipality;
• To develop and evaluate the policies and programs of the municipality;
• To determine which services the municipality provides;
• To ensure that administrative policies, practices and procedures and controllership policies, practices and procedures are in place to implement the decisions of council;
• To ensure the accountability and transparency of the operations of the municipality, including the activities of the senior management of the municipality;
• To maintain the financial integrity of the municipality; and
• To carry out the duties of council under this or any other Act.

In other words, the key responsibilities as a Councillor are to support the municipality and its operations while ensuring that the public and municipality’s well-being and interests are maintained.

Municipal councils have a broad range of responsibilities and may choose to organize their work using committee structures. At the Municipality of Port Hope, we use a Committee of the Whole structure as well as advisory committees made up of a mix of councillors and members of the public. These committees carry out the work of council and then report back to council with recommendations. Visit our Boards and Committees page for more information. 

A committee of council is often subject to similar legislative requirements as council under the Act, such as having open meetings.

The role of Mayor 

The Municipal Act, 2001, Section 225, identifies the Mayor’s responsibilities as follows:

• To be head of the municipal council and to act as Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation.
• To preside over council meetings.
• To provide leadership to council.
• To represent the municipality at official functions.
• To carry out the duties of the Head of Council under this or any other Act.
• To perform duties of a member of council as outlined in the Municipal Act, 2001, Section 224.

The Mayor also serves as a member of Northumberland County Council and is required to attend all regular and special meetings of County Council as well as any standing committees to which the Mayor is appointed.

Effective May 1, 2025, the Province on Ontario announced that Strong Mayor Powers are being extended to 169 municipalities, including the Municipality of Port Hope.
Under Part VI. 1 of the Municipal Act, 2001, the Mayor has the following special powers and duties as the head of Municipal Council:

• Appoint and dismiss the Municipality’s Chief Administrative Officer.
• Hiring/Dismissing division heads and establishing and reorganizing departments.
• Creating committees of Council, assigning their functions and appointing the chairs and vice-chairs of committees of Council.
• Proposing the municipal budget, which would be subject to Council amendments and a Mayoral veto and Council override process.
• Vetoing certain by-laws if the Mayor is of the opinion that all or part of the by-law could potentially interfere with a provincial priority.
• Bringing forward matters for Council consideration if the Mayor is of the opinion that considering the matter could potentially advance a provincial priority.
• Direct Municipal Staff in writing.
• The Mayor is required to exercise these powers in writing and make them available to the public, subject to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protections of Privacy Act. A public listing of Mayoral Decisions and Directives is available on the Strong Mayor Powers webpage. 

For more information on the role of the Mayor, visit our Strong Mayor Powers Webpage. 

The role of Deputy Mayor