The town of St. Paul decided to keep its deputy mayor position on a rotational basis, rather than allowing the next council to choose who fills it.
The decision was made during the September 8 meeting, when council finalized changes to the towns meeting procedures bylaw. Mayor Maureen Miller said having a rotating deputy mayor is more transparent. “If it is a rotating deputy mayor I’m going to be frank, there’s no room for a buddy system.”
Miller said that appointing one deputy could create opportunities for favouritism. “I’m just saying because I’ve seen both sides of the story, and I feel as a mayor, I would just find it much more transparent if there was no opportunity for that buddy system to show up.”
She added that having a rotation will allow councillors to see the mayor’s responsibilities, including signing off on the remunerations. Councillor Ron Boisvert agreed with Miller. “I feel that the rotation gives everyone an opportunity to an experience,” said Boisvert. “They’ll have to attend different functions and I think it’s a great learning experience for everybody. I like the rotation.”
Councillor Nathan Taylor said he does not have an issue with a rotation but suggested that the next council should have the flexibility in how they select a deputy mayor. “To call it a buddy system, whether the majority wins an election for mayor or council or the majority wins a position of deputy mayor, I don’t think that calling a majority win a buddy system is appreciated,” he said, noting that the role of deputy mayor needs clearer expectations.
Boisvert made the motion to keep the role rotational and adopt a schedule for a deputy mayor and both were approved.
The new bylaw will allow the deputy and the acting mayor to now sign a bylaw as soon as the third reading for a bylaw has been passed, in the event that the mayor is unavailable.
“A procedure bylaw is a snapshot of time of how we practice within this room, and give direction t all those that int he room,” said Mayor Miller.
