Municipal government can sometimes be confusing. Residents often hear things about what Council "should" be able to do - but the reality is that municipalities operate within a legal framework that defines the roles of the Mayor, Council, staff, and other levels of government.
Here are a few common myths:
❌ Myth: Council can fire any municipal employee.
✔ Fact: Council does not manage individual employees. Under Ontario's Municipal Act, Council's role is to set policy and provide direction, while the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) oversees the administration of the municipality and the municipal workforce.
Council hires the CAO and evaluates their performance, but decisions about other staff members are handled through the municipal administration.
❌ Myth: Council can stop any development it doesn't like.
✔ Fact: Municipal decisions must follow provincial legislation, including the Planning Act, the municipality's Official Plan, zoning by-laws, and established planning processes.
Council has an important role in approving or refusing applications, but it cannot simply say "no" because a project is unpopular. Decisions must be based on planning evidence, provincial rules, and whether the application meets legal requirements.
❌ Myth: The Mayor decides everything.
✔ Fact: The Mayor is the head of Council and has important responsibilities, including providing leadership and representing the municipality. However, in a lower-tier municipality, decisions are made collectively by Council through votes.
The Mayor has one vote - just like every other member of Council - unless specific powers have been assigned under legislation.
❌ Myth: Council can expand the hospital or hire more doctors.
✔ Fact: Hospitals, physician recruitment, and healthcare funding are provincial responsibilities.
Municipal councils often advocate for expanded healthcare services, support physician recruitment efforts, and work with local healthcare partners, but they do not control hospital expansion projects or decide how many doctors practice in the community.
❌ Myth: Council decides when new schools are built.
✔ Fact: Municipalities do not build or fund schools. School boards determine when new schools are needed based on enrolment projections and funding provided by the Province.
Municipalities can work with school boards by planning for future growth, reserving land through the planning process, and advocating for new schools, but they cannot decide when one will be built.
❌ Myth: Municipal taxes pay for schools.
✔ Fact: Education funding is collected through your municipal property tax bill, but those funds are transferred to the Province for distribution to school boards.
Your municipality uses its share of property taxes to provide local services such as:
- Roads and sidewalks
- Fire services
- Parks and recreation
- Libraries (where applicable)
- By-law enforcement
- Planning and development services
- Community facilities
Understanding how municipal government works helps residents ask better questions and have realistic expectations about what their local Council can and cannot do.