Mayor's Budget

Strong Mayor Powers are legislated under Ontario statute and grant mayors of designated municipalities enhanced authority and responsibilities over various governance matters, including the municipal budget.

Under these powers, the Mayor is required to present the budget and holds the authority to veto any amendments proposed by Council.

The Town of Pelham, or the Mayor of Pelham, cannot formally reject the imposition of Strong Mayor Powers. The Mayor has the discretion to determine the extent to which these powers will be utilized, with the exception of the Mayor's budget, which is a mandatory requirement.

The Mayor is required to prepare and present a proposed budget for Council's consideration no later than February 1st of each year to which the budget applies. 

1. Once the Mayor proposes the budget, he will distribute it to Council. For ease of reference, the proposed budgets will be posted to the Town of Pelham website at www.pelham.ca
2. After the budget is proposed, Council has the authority to pass resolutions amending the proposed budget within 30 days of its receipt. 
1. Following this 30-day period, the Mayor may exercise a veto within a maximum of 10 days. In Pelham, Council has passed a resolution shortening this veto period to 8 days.
2. If the Mayor vetoes any Council amendments within the established Mayoral Veto Period, Council may vote to override the veto within a maximum of 15 days. In Pelham, Council has passed a resolution shortening this override period to 8 days.
3. If the Mayor doesn’t veto, the budget is deemed adopted.

The legislated timeline to adopt a municipal budget is 55 days. In Pelham, both Council and the Mayor have chosen to shorten this period through the appropriate mechanisms. As a result, the complete budget process has a maximum duration of 36 days and may proceed even faster if veto powers are not exercised.