Ramara Township council has decided to wait until Ontario’s state of emergency has ended before taking action on filling the seat left vacant with the death of its deputy mayor.
John O’Donnell died March 25. At a committee-of-the-whole meeting this week, councillors voted to have the clerk prepare a report on how to fill the vacancy once Premier Doug Ford declares the state of emergency over.
Council will have the option to fill the vacancy through either a byelection or appointment.
“We don’t believe it’s the proper time to train a new councillor. It’s also not a time to have an election,” said Mayor Basil Clarke. “Even if we decide to appoint, we need to interview candidates.”
The mayor doesn’t believe the decision to wait will have a detrimental effect on township business.
“We’re usually unanimous, maybe the odd person out on a vote,” he said. “Because council is functioning well as a team, we don’t see any major issues.”
The Municipal Act states a decision on filling a council vacancy must be made within 90 days of the seat being declared vacant, but the province has put that stipulation, among others, on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Council also voted to have Coun. Joe Gough serve as the alternate representative on Simcoe County council.
The motion passed this week will be up for ratification at the April 27 meeting of council.
Council has also decided to forgo committee-of-the-whole meetings and will only hold regular council meetings until the state of emergency has been lifted.
“Normally, you want that time for sober second thought,” Clarke said, referring to the week between meetings at which time decisions are offically ratified. “During an emergency, we want to be able to make decisions and act on them quickly.”
The regular schedule of committee meetings will resume when the pandemic is over, he noted.
