Springwater Township council and mayor continue to clash over boundary change dispute

A special meeting held Monday sparks controversy as Springwater council challenges the mayor’s use of strong mayor authority in boundary dispute.

Springwater Township’s council held a special meeting Monday night that once again highlighted tensions with Mayor Jennifer Coughlin over her use of ‘strong mayor powers’ in the ongoing dispute over the boundary adjustment.

The emergency meeting was called by a group of councillors who supported a motion to block the mayor’s use of these powers. Councillor Phil Fisher criticized the mayor’s recent decision to dismiss the township’s solicitor, saying it exceeded the scope of of strong mayor powers.

“If we as a council - and we as residents - don’t say no to the the obvious misuse of strong mayors powers, a precedent is set. Once that precedent is set, well, every other municipality and their mayor can really do whatever they wish,” Fisher said. “We need to do something about it.”

Last week, council voted against Barrie’s proposed boundary adjustment at a meeting Wednesday. Coughlin quickly intervened, using her strong mayor powers to override the council’s vote. Council then voted 4-3 to instruct the township’s legal team to challenge the mayor’s veto in court.

Just 48 hours later, the mayor directed township staff to terminate the legal team immediately. The move to dismiss the law firm Loopstra Nixon LLP came after the law firm expressed Coughlin’s use of strong mayors powers might not have been legitimate in this case.

Coughlin argues the legal challenge from the council conflicts with priorities set by the province, and therefore, her strong mayor powers should apply. The council, however, disagreed and ultimately passed a motion calling for a judicial review to examine the mayor’s use of these powers.

Despite this, the mayor said the council’s motion lacks any direction to change the current state of affairs.