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POLICY Effective Date: May 8, 2017
Section: Corporate
Title: Acting Mayor Protocol
PURPOSE
This Policy provides a protocol for Council members when acting in place of the Mayor
when the Mayor is absent or otherwise unable to act or when the office of the Mayor is
vacant.
1. Introduction
In the Council Procedure Bylaw 1364, Acting Mayor is defined as the Councillor
designated to act in the place of the Mayor when the Mayor is absent or otherwise
unable to act or when the office of the Mayor is vacant.
These duties may include:
• attending an event on behalf of the Mayor and the Town of Oliver
• chairing a Council meeting
• serving as a signatory on documents
Currently each Councillor is assigned a three-month block to serve as Acting Mayor. If
the Acting Mayor is unable to attend an event, the Mayor will seek another member of
Council to represent the Mayor's Office.
2. Attending Events
The Mayor’s Office receives numerous invitations to attend events and bring greetings
on behalf of the Town of Oliver throughout the year. Given the amount of requests and
the Mayor’s work schedule, members of Council will be asked to attend events on behalf
of the Mayor’s Office even when the Mayor is in town.
To manage requests of members of Council in a fair and organized way, each Councillor
is assigned a three-month block to serve as Acting Mayor.
If the Acting Mayor is unable to attend an event, the Deputy Corporate Officer will seek
another member of Council to represent the Mayor’s Office.
There are a few exceptions to this general rule of assigning events to the designated
Acting Mayor.
For example:
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• Representing the Town at an event associated with the duties of a particular
Councillor (e.g., member of a community organization, committee chair) may be
offered to them first
Unless there is a compelling local connection, generally speaking events outside our
municipality are not accepted to give priority to local events.
Attending events during a Councillor’s assigned period is considered part of their duties
as a member of Council. Members of Council are asked to make their best efforts to be
available.
3. Changes to Acting Mayor schedule
The annual order of Acting Mayors is established with the annual yearly Regular Open
Meeting Schedule.
If members of Council would like to serve as Acting Mayor during an alternative time (for
example, if they will be taking a vacation during this period), they are asked to discuss
this with a colleague and coordinate this with the Mayor’s Office as far in advance as
possible as bookings can occur several months in advance.
4. Support for Acting Mayors
Members of Council can expect the following support from the Deputy Corporate Officer:
• Contact from the Deputy Corporate Officer one to two months in advance to
determine if you have any constraints to fulfilling your duties as Acting Mayor
• E-mail requests to attend events from the Deputy Corporate Officer
• A detailed event overview
• Confirmation of the booking in Outlook
• Speaking notes (as required)
• Any other materials (e.g. certificate, letter)
5. Expectations of Acting Mayor’s
What the Mayor expects from members of Council serving as Acting Mayor:
• Prompt responses to requests regarding your attendance at an event as Acting
Mayor (community organizers are often quite anxious to confirm attendance)
• Advise the Deputy Corporate Officer immediately if you are unable to keep a
• commitment to attend an event
• Members of Council are often asked to attend events in their capacity as a
Councillor
However, if a member of Council is asked to bring greetings on behalf of the
Town of Oliver, please bring this request to the attention of the Deputy Corporate Officer
to avoid any miscommunication or embarrassment to the Town of Oliver,
members of Council or the Mayor’s Office.
6. Chairing a Council Meeting
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The Corporate Officer provides support to Acting Mayors fulfilling this role. If the Acting
Mayor is asked to Chair a meeting, if possible, they will be invited to the Agenda Review
Meeting that reviews the draft agenda. The Corporate Officer would be happy to meet
or speak with the Acting Mayor in advance of a meeting that they will be chairing to
review the meeting procedures or answer any questions the Acting Mayor may have.
This can be arranged directly with the Corporate Officer or with the assistance of the
Deputy Corporate Officer.
The CAO is also available to assist the Acting Mayor to provide background as required.
7. Serving as Signatory on Documents
If the Mayor’s signature is required but is not available, the Acting Mayor may be asked
to sign a document as Acting Mayor. This responsibility is coordinated through the office
of the Corporate Officer to ensure the appropriate due diligence has been carried out
prior to requesting the signature.
8. Other
With respect to the Mayor’s role in an emergency, two members of Council are
appointed each term to “Act in the Case of an Emergency” should the Mayor be
unavailable or as relief during an extended emergency. These Councillors are advised
in advance of the Mayor travelling beyond 100 kilometres from the Town.