Local Government Role Descriptions
The Role of the Mayor (Saskatchewan)
Roles of the Mayor
The Mayor as Leader of Council
In most respects, the Mayor has the same responsibilities of all members of Council as well as performing an added layer of leadership on behalf of Council. Thus, in addition to those roles set out in the Act, the Mayor is presumed to act as the community’s leader but always subservient to the will of Council as a whole and in concert with the legislation. Further, the Mayor is not expected to overlap the Administrator (CAO) but to provide the voice, eyes and ears of the community on policy issues.
It is important that these roles be clearly understood. The legislation does not encourage or allow the Mayor to act independently. The Mayor is expected to be a leader and yet function as “one of” not “apart from”. The Mayor will always be viewed by the public as the face and voice of Council but must never allow that public persona to be used in an imperial or directive fashion.
Importance of the Mayor’s Position
The foregoing commentary does not mean that the Mayor does not have a very important role to play. The Mayor is central to what is commonly referred to as “tone at the top”. Much of how the community views its Council is a reflection of how it sees its Mayor. Is the Mayor on top of things or seemingly disinterested? Is the Mayor decisive or does he seem to waffle? Is the Mayor respectful of other Council members and trying to build a team or does the Mayor operate in a high-handed manner seemingly without caring about the need to lead a team? Is the Mayor a person of high integrity or someone that believes that the rules and legislation were meant for everyone else?
The Mayor’s style should be one which enables each member of Council to see their own worth to the collective whole.
The Mayor is the leader of the Council team despite the fact that his team may not see things as one but rather whose members speak out separately on the key issues. Where Council members disagree on key issues, the Mayor’s challenge is to listen carefully to what each is saying and try to identify common ground in their arguments. The Mayor seeks consensus while understanding that in its absence democracy rules. That is, regardless of the Mayor’s efforts the Council might split on this or that issue. That is how it may remain and thus the Mayor has to lead from whatever decision of Council has been approved by resolution. Such “consensus building” is not simple nor is it not without considerable time and effort. And, ironically, it might be without positive results.
What most Mayors understand is that a healthy Council has everyone at the table, informed and involved. That is, there is no effort to exclude those who might disagree and who therefore might be considered as “not part of the team”. This latter expression presumes that everyone must be on the same page to have a good Council or to be a good Councillor. That is of course nonsense.
Leader of All
The duty of the Mayor in such circumstances is to work with all members and not single out some as being on his “side” and the others as relegated to the sidelines because they do not support the Mayor. Such a style of leadership (which we realize has been witnessed in various communities across Canada) is divisive to the core and results in enmity not collegiality. Playing silly, immature games while purposely dividing the Council and then not really caring as long as the Mayor controls the majority view is behaviour unbecoming a chief elected official. How one leads the team in such a circumstance is difficult to fathom. The Mayor recognizes that on any given topic, some of his colleagues may choose to have a different opinion. That being so does not inhibit a mature and thoughtful Mayor from ensuring that all members are equally and concurrently informed and all given the opportunity to express their differences to the views of the Mayor. When that is so it eliminates any possibility of the Mayor acting in a deliberate fashion to shut out the voices of those he would expect to be opposed.
Concurrently Informed
The Mayor ought to be focusing on how to ensure that all of Council is concurrently informed. That would be the respectful thing to do and would reflect the fact that the Mayor sees all of Council as her/his colleagues and as equals. One way in which this process can be manipulated in the Mayor’s favour is by the Mayor holding onto valuable information and not sharing the same with his Council colleagues. This is generally done knowingly and with the purpose of making the rest of Council dependent on the Mayor for his judgment as to what course of action to follow.
Community Conscience
We generally expect the Mayor to be the conscience of the community: to act in such a way as to place the interests of others before any evidence of self-interest. The Mayor needs to conscientiously set aside any professional or personal obligations or commitments that are not in the best interests of the community and act as one of rather than the only one. The Mayor’s business interests should be made known to the CAO and Clerk (recording secretary) and any issue that subsequently arises in Chambers which impacts on those interests should be quickly identified so that the Mayor can be excused from any discussion on or voting on these issues.
If acting as expected and anticipated by legislation, the Mayor respects the fact that he is but one voice representing Council’s “face” to the public. The Mayor has one vote, not a majority. The Mayor can encourage a Council to act in a certain way but cannot coerce it to do so nor can he act unilaterally. The Mayor can say what he thinks Council’s views on a matter will be, but a Mayor cannot categorically state what it will be; nor can a Mayor make any commitment to an action (or, for example, to fund a project or hire any employee) before the Council as a whole has made a decision.
The Mayor’s voice has much more volume than that held by his colleagues. That is, when the Mayor speaks his voice carries weight beyond that of any other member of Council. The Mayor has the vote of the citizenry behind him, and they see him as “their” leader and spokesperson. That is a role and perspective which ought not to be treated lightly.
Informal Power
The Mayor’s power is informal, but it can still be very persuasive. The Mayor may only have one vote on each matter, but the office carries with it more prestige and “power” than the vote would signify. Whenever the Mayor speaks, the community presumes that he is uttering the will of the Council. This is both a power and an obligation: a power in that his voice carries more influence than the individual voices of his colleagues; an obligation in that the Mayor must be very careful not to go beyond the parameters of Mayor his office and presume that because he speaks, others must fall in line. The Mayor, regardless of how committed to a particular course of action, needs to ensure that all members of Council understand the implications of that course and are willing to endorse the leadership being offered by the Mayor.
It needs to be understood that the ability of the Mayor to be influential on Council is highly dependent on the willingness of the rest of Council to follow the lead of the Mayor. While each Mayor is entitled and indeed expected to hold his own views on most issues, the challenge for a Mayor is to be able to rightfully claim that he reflects the will of the majority of Council. The most logical way to ensure that this is the case is to develop a policy framework on the key issues such that each member knows where the Council stands on that topic with sufficient confidence so as to express those views publicly without fear of contradiction.
General duties of mayor or Mayor
93(1) In addition to performing the duties of a councillor, a mayor or reeve has the following duties: (a) to preside when in attendance at a council meeting unless this Act or another Act or a bylaw of council provides that another councillor is to preside; (b) to perform any other duty imposed on a mayor or reeve by this or any other Act or by bylaw or resolution. (2) The mayor or reeve is a member of all council committees and all bodies established by council pursuant to this Act, unless the council provides otherwise.
General duties of councillors
92 Councillors have the following duties:
(a) to represent the public and to consider the well-being and interests of the municipality; (b) to participate in developing and evaluating the policies, services and programs of the municipality; (c) to participate in council meetings and council committee meetings and meetings of other bodies to which they are appointed by the council; (d) to ensure that administrative practices and procedures are in place to implement the decisions of council; (e) subject to the bylaws made pursuant to section 81.1, to keep in confidence matters discussed in private or to be discussed in private at a council or council committee meeting until discussed at a meeting held in public; (f) to maintain the financial integrity of the municipality; (g) to perform any other duty or function imposed on councillors by this or any other Act or by the council.
Based on our reviews of both the legislation from other Provinces and how the role is actually played out in various communities across this vast country, it is obvious that the Mayor is viewed as having a potentially significant impact on how local government is conveyed in every community. While not all of this is due to the legislation, the basis of authority for a Mayor as the chief elected official is conveyed in the Municipalities Act. In most communities across Canada, the office of Mayor is regarded with a combination of respect and esteem. This is the people’s choice as their chief elected official. While one can argue that the Mayor has no more of a role than that accorded to other members of Council, this is not how the residents of the community view this office. The Mayor represents the will of the people and the resolutions of the Council.
The Mayor has considerable power, albeit largely informal, and can exercise this influence over the conduct of the business of the municipality. This does not ignore the fact that the Mayor has only one vote on all matters and is, in many respects, co-equal with their colleagues on Council. Rather, it reflects the fact that the public and media often tend to pay more attention to the Mayor than to others on Council. The Mayor must therefore be very prudent in their use of this power and should exercise it for the good of the community as a whole.
The image of the Mayor as an effective leader is highly dependent on the willingness of the rest of Council to follow the lead of the Mayor and to work together. This does not dispute the right of individual Council members to have independent views on all topics. Rather, this observation reflects the need of Council to receive leadership from the chair and to respect the right of the Mayor to provide such leadership as best as they are able to do so.
If the Mayor is to be effective, he will need to be able to solicit the agreement of their colleagues to work cooperatively on a commonly chosen game-plan. It is also expected that the Mayor will encourage their colleagues on Council to view accepted policy from a "Council as one unit" perspective rather than individually.
There is considerable inherent value to the community in the role of the Mayor providing that this role is clearly understood and providing that the incumbent has the presence (or force) to maximize its potential. The Mayor must lead – and this requires a sense of personal vision for the future of the community.
Key Roles of a Chief Elected Official
While we describe the roles of a Chief Elected Official in somewhat different terms in the material which follows, these roles can be categorized into the following four key groupings:
Leadership Functions
- Chair of Regular Meetings of Council; Consensus-Seeker on Behalf of all Members
- Key Spokesperson to Community and to the Municipal Organization
- Recommend the Establishment of Council Committees and Appoint Members to Both Internal and External Boards and Committees
- Make Recommendations re: Peace, Order, Good Government
Communication Functions
- Brief Council Members on all Meetings and Correspondence
- Liaison with the CAO
- Liaison with the Public
- Key Linkage and Spokesperson to Other Levels of Government
- Communicates the Decisions of Council to the Outside World; Expresses the “Will Of Council”
Monitoring Functions
- Act as Council’s Eyes and Ears in Maintaining an Overseeing Role with regard to the Conduct of Municipal Officers
- Recommend the Suspension of a Municipal Officer or Employee (If Necessary)
- Ensure that the Law Is Carried Out
Representational Functions
- Acts In An “Ex Officio” Capacity to Boards and Committees
- Performs a Ceremonial Role on Special Occasions
- Main Spokesperson to Other Levels of Government
Another way of describing this role of CEO includes:
(a) Leadership Functions
This role is perhaps that which is seen the most frequently by the public and by Council alike. The Mayor is expected to chair each meeting of Council and ensure that the business of Council is handled expeditiously and effectively. This requires the Mayor to be aware of meeting protocol, the concerns of their Council members, the personalities of Councillors, and the issues to be determined at that meeting. He needs to be comfortable with power and with dispensing authority with clarity and equality.
The Mayor needs to be well-briefed by the CAO with regard to each and every agenda issue. The Mayor should understand the basics of the issue; what is expected by the administration; the advantages of the proposed course of action; those who are most likely to be impacted; and what sort of public participation and/or reaction will be expected.
With regard to the appointment of Council members to boards and committees, it is normally deemed to be a prerogative of the Mayor to recommend the appointment of Council members on an annual basis. This prerogative needs to be limited by two caveats. First, the Mayor should consult with all members of Council prior to any recommended appointments being placed before the full Council. Secondly, Council as a whole should approve these appointments by a majority vote. This can be perceived as a fairly significant issue and sometimes an emotionally charged issue given the desire by Council members to serve on particular boards and organizations with which they have personally some degree of affinity. It is our bias, on the other hand, that all members of Council should be considered to be generalists on all issues and thus should be eligible for appointment to all boards and committees. In this regard, we believe it is wise for the Mayor and Council members to reconsider this list of appointments each year and ensure that some degree of rotation occurs during the course of a Council term (preferably resulting in no Councillor serving more than two years with the same advisory body) (this should be a matter of Council policy).
As a leader, the Mayor is expected to be capable of "rallying the troops" around a particular issue(s) or a particular course of direction. The direction, however, must be that established by the full Council rather than the Mayor individually. Thus, in some instances, the Mayor may be obliged to pull the full Council together towards a particular direction which they may not have supported at the outset. This obviously requires someone with the ability to lead based on decisions established by consensus rather someone who can only lead if the consensus reflects their own opinion. While this is a difficult matter, the Mayor is nonetheless one individual who must be able to draw disparate views together and enable a consensus to be reached.
Likely one of the most difficult tasks of any Mayor is the expectation that they will be able to find the common ground between Councillors amidst the sea of diverse opinion. While the Mayor is not expected to compromise their principles, most issues have within them the potential for agreement providing that people are prepared to see each other’s point of view. The difficulty, of course, is convincing everyone that some degree of compromise is needed to reach a reasonable solution.
The vast majority of the power of the Mayor's office is more implied than it is stated. The office of the Mayor carries with it considerable perceived clout in the community given the status and respect which most people accord to that office. While it may not have much additional formal power than that of any other member of Council, the Mayor is expected to be the leader of the community and to be capable of taking charge of the issues. The Mayor also has an implied obligation to convey the will of Council to the public, whether or not the Mayor has actually supported the decision of Council.
- Communication Functions
One of the keys to effective leadership as a Mayor is the ability to ensure that the Council as a whole is well-briefed at all times with regard to the information which the Mayor becomes party to as a result of his office. Council members generally understand that the Mayor may become privy to information and/or concerns given the Mayor’s leadership role in the RM. While this affords the Mayor with advance notice of such issues or even potential new projects, the Mayor has an obligation to immediately inform their colleagues on Council and the CAO as to the nature of any such discussions. Indeed, it is preferable that the Mayor strive to have either the CAO or the Deputy Mayor present in such discussions.
It is not wise for the Mayor to ever withhold such information if he expects Council to want to work together under their leadership. Thus, the Mayor and the CAO will need to establish a mechanism that ensures that all members of Council are equally and concurrently advised of the issues as they develop.
In part due to their position as leader of Council and in part due to the more frequent presence, the Mayor is expected to be Council's main spokesman to the administration. This role is particularly important as a means of ensuring that the views of Council as a whole are understood at the senior levels. The Mayor needs to be able to advise the CAO and senior staff as to Council's anticipated view of a matter or to clarify a policy position or explain a particular grievance as expressed by Council.
The Mayor needs to be careful, however, that their actions do not lead the rest of the organization to conclude that the Mayor is the administrator. The Mayor, like all members of Council, needs to defer to the CAO on staff/administrative/management issues or run the risk of severely damaging and undermining that office. This is one of the reasons why the Mayor needs to be careful in how accessible he is to other members of staff other than the CAO, unless such meetings are held with the agreement of the CAO or at least advance knowledge.
c) Monitoring Functions
The Mayor has an implied obligation to monitor the delivery of local government services. This does not imply that a member of Council, including the Mayor, is to directly supervise the work of the administration but, rather, to maintain an awareness of what is generally going on and whether or not the concerns of the ratepayers are being properly heard and acted upon (where applicable). This can be achieved through simply being aware of what is going on in the community and bringing any issue which needs attention to the notice of the CAO. If the matter is within existing policy, the CAO will endeavor to act upon the Mayor’s suggestion while if the matter is deemed by the CAO to be beyond the present Council policies, then the CAO is required to bring such a matter back to the whole Council at a duly called meeting for Council’s resolution.
Regardless of the rationale for such criticism, there should never be any direct public criticism of the administration by any member of Council. The Mayor should immediately rule such comments out of order and remind Councillors of their commitment to this protocol. The appropriate place for negative comments vis-à-vis administrative performance, however, is in an in camera meeting between the Council and the CAO.
There also needs to be a clear understanding by all parties that the appropriate protocol for a member of Council in accessing administrative advice (at a Council meeting) requires referral of such enquiries to the CAO for their response. It should be up to the CAO to determine what response is appropriate and whether or not the CAO has sufficient information to answer the question or whether the issue should be referred to another member of the administration. It may well be that the CAO recognizes that the issue is linked to several others which are under review and thus the best response would be to defer any answer. The Council should accord the CAO this courtesy. The Mayor and all Councillors are to function as a collective body which has great respect for the CAO as the one person who has responsibility for all other staff. To interfere with this principle is to undermine the administration.
d) Representational Functions
The Mayor, by virtue of his office, may be appointed to various boards and committees. These bodies are often appointed by Council and may consist, at least in part, of public citizens who are asked to advise the municipality on one or more key functions (e.g. planning, recreation, tourism). The presence of the Mayor is often sought when a group wants to:
- Ø ensure ongoing support by Council
- Ø increase the likelihood of Council being informed as to the issues
- Ø obtain an insight at least into how Council may react to a particular recommendation.
It needs to be made clear, however, that the Mayor's role is to reflect the views of Council (as they exist in terms of policy, resolutions, bylaws and informal debates/discussions) to the external agency. If the advisory agency presumes that it is hearing the word of Council, only to find out that the Mayor's opinion was very much a minority viewpoint, problems of credibility will result. As well, the role of the Mayor as a liaison (similar to that of any member of Council) rather than that of advocate must be made apparent to any and all advisory agencies.
As the official representative of the community, the Mayor will more frequently be in a position of being the host of visiting groups and delegations. This will require the Mayor to have some latitude in that any expenses incurred by the Mayor in hosting such organizations, delegations or individuals should be legitimately picked up by the RM. An appropriate record-keeping process, as recommended by the CAO upon the input of the external auditor, should be determined. A reasonable budget needs to be established for this purpose on an annual basis.
The Mayor is also expected to be the key representative of Council in meetings with other municipalities (unless delegated to another member of Council) and the Provincial and Federal governments. Any liaison on a political level should normally be conducted through the Mayor's office.
While we recognize the additional powers and prestige of the office of the Mayor, these powers are only effective when supported by the rest of Council. This serves as a useful check upon the authority of not only the Mayor but also Council as a whole.
Summary
The role of the Mayor is vital to the well-being of any municipality. The “tone at the top” is established by the Mayor and reflects in many ways whether or not the Mayor understands their role and carefully discharges it. The role ought to be respected by all. This will be earned individually by the Mayor one day at a time.
