Tuesday, 10 September 2013

Types of Mayors


If you are wondering: the only constant these days is change. It doesn't matter in what walk of life, change is afoot. Similarly the Office of Mayor is changing as well and how individuals approach the Office.

There are many well-known mayors and each seems to have their own vision and values.

The Mayor of Calgary, Naheed Nenshi, is someone I would consider a visionary with strong policy credentials and communication skills. He seems to be very community oriented in the sense of building a community of relationships.

The Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, is different wherein he "sees New York as a corporation, city workers as talent, and the public as customers - and by and large New Yorkers love him for it."

However, back in 1892 the former mayor of Birmingham in England is different again and compared cities to a "joint stock or co-operative enterprise in which every citizen is a shareholder, and of which the dividends are receivable in the improved health and the increase of comfort and happiness of the community."

Here are some things that guide me as mayor from the Policy Manual and as mandated by provincial legislation:

E.O. The community of Kindersley exists so that its citizens enjoy a safe, attractive, vibrant, sustainable and environmentally friendly community for a reasonable investment.

GP.O The purpose of the Council, on behalf of the ratepayers of Kindersley, is to see to it that  the Town of Kindersley (a) achieves appropriate results for appropriate persons at an appropriate costs and (b) avoids unacceptable actions and situations.

GP.4. The Mayor, acts as Chair or Chief Governance Officer of the Council and as such is a specially empowered member of the Council who assures the integrity of the Council's process and, secondarily, represents the Council to outside parties.

Accordingly:

1.       The assigned result of the Mayor’s job is that the Council behaves consistently with its own rules and those legitimately imposed upon it from outside the organization...

2.       The authority of the Mayor consists in making decisions that fall within topics covered by Council policies on Governance Process and Council-Chief Administrative Officer Delegation, with the exception of (a) employment or termination of a Chief Administrative Officer and (b) where the Council specifically delegates portions of this authority to others. The Mayor is authorised to use any reasonable interpretation of the provisions in these policies...
 
3.       The Mayor is responsible for the creation and maintenance of the CAO employee file...

4.       The Deputy Mayor acts in the absence of the Mayor with all the authority accorded under this policy and the Municipalities Act.

After 10 months I have to say I have enjoyed being Mayor more than I thought I would. I am still learning and with Council, I believe we are headed down the right road. As for my style: it is a work in progress. I want Kindersley to have the four pillars of a community flourish. Those pillars include: culture, economics, education, and recreation. My hope is that Kindersley will "R.E.E.C. with Opportunities" resulting in a community whose residents and businesses flourish.

·         Recreation Opportunities

·         Economic Opportunities

·         Education Opportunities

·         Cultural Opportunities
 
Kindersley is not about shareholders and customers, I think Kindersley is about people working and playing together so all can flourish.


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