The process of implementing a deputy mayor or executive committee has been outlined to Sarnia Council.
In a report to council on Monday's agenda, city staff have concluded that creating a committee would be a heavy burden on staff and conflict with the city manager bylaw, which states that the city manager has to report to council as a whole.
Councillor Anne-Marie Gillis is pleased staff held discussions with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and reviewed the Municipal Act.
"They did a lot of research to come to that conclusion, as opposed to [saying] 'Well, they had a Board of Control in London and it didn't work,' so I think that has been fully vetted," says Gillis.
Several steps to establish a deputy mayor have been outlined.
First and foremost, staff says council needs to determine whether or not the deputy mayor will replace one of the four city/county councillor positions in order to have a permanent seat on Lambton County Council.
If they decide to it will be necessary to have the deputy mayor elected by a general vote in the 2018 election.
If they decide not to, a vote in the election is not necessary and council has the option of electing a deputy mayor amongst themselves or appointing a councillor to the position based on the highest number of votes in the last general election.
If council decides to take that path, staff says they need to decide if someone will stay the position for one, two or four years.
"Everything has been laid out with regards to the deputy mayor. I was just reading through it [the report] again, and it's quite extensive. There's a lot to digest in that report to come up with what council wants to do moving forward," says Gillis.
The integrity commissioner recommended in his report on Mayor Mike Bradley that a deputy mayor and executive committee should be considered.
The city currently has a rotating system for the position of acting mayor, when the mayor is absent.
