Cambridge's strong mayor budget process sparks confusion, frustration for councillors
CBC
Cambridge city councillors hope their next meeting to talk about the 2026 draft budget goes much more smoothly than the first.
Councillors were left frustrated Monday night as a meeting discussing the city’s second-ever “strong mayor” budget veered off course.
Mayor Jan Liggett has strong mayor powers given to her by the provincial government in June 2023. As part of that, she's permitted to craft a city budget with a focus on areas that would speed up delivery of municipal-provincial priorities, including housing, transit and infrastructure projects.
Once Liggett presents her budget to council, councillors have 30 days to propose amendments to the budget, but Liggett can veto amendments made by councillors.
The meeting on Monday was intended to give councillors a chance to present and debate those amendments. But councillors say the rules kept changing — even before they stepped into the chamber, and it has left many of them unsure how exactly strong mayor power legislation works.
“Councillors were just concerned that the process as we had understood it was a bit muddled,” said Coun. Scott Hamilton in an interview with CBC News.
He said some councillors were told on Friday they would not be allowed to present their amendments at Monday’s meeting because they failed to meet “criteria” developed by city staff.
But shortly before Monday’s meeting began, that decision was reversed without explanation.
Hamilton said he "found out about half an hour before the meeting started" that he would be discussing his amendment at the meeting.
Even once councillors were permitted to introduce amendments at the meeting, they were told they couldn’t ask city staff any questions about them.
Instead, councillors were told staff would provide support at a later meeting, when votes on the amendments ewre scheduled to take place.
Councillors were told they could discuss the amendments among themselves, without staff input, which is a break from the traditional budget process where staff answer technical and financial questions as they arise.
Councillors pushed back during the meeting, saying they couldn’t meaningfully debate their amendments without staff input.
Hamilton said he ended up fielding questions from other councillors himself — questions that would normally be directed to staff.
Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating after an officer involved shooting at Danforth Go station early Saturday morning, said Toronto police.
Montreal officials will hold a ceremony to mark the 36th anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre today.
The City of Regina's proposal to build a roadway through the McKell Wascana Conservation Park should be discarded, local conservationists say.
A holiday event that began in 2020 during the pandemic with three floats on pickup trucks has now become one of Kelowna’s big winter events, drawing thousands to the city’s downtown core.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.