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Rob Burton was elected the 45th mayor of the Town of Oakville in 2006. His full biography can be viewed at www.robburton.org. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/oakvillemayor

Oakville.com: Please tell us about your background.

Mayor Burton: The really brief bio: Oakville Mayor, retired YTV founder/GM, MS Columbia University ’71, husband of Wendy, dad of Rachel, Sarah & Robbie, cookie-giver to Tessa the friendly Airedale. The longer biography is here: www.robburton.org

Oakville.com: Can you describe the duties and responsibilities of your Office?

Mayor Burton: I think everyone knows the Mayor conducts Council meetings and provides leadership in setting its agenda and promoting the Town’s interests. Perhaps fewer know that the Mayor also has the responsibility under the Municipal Act to act as the Chief Executive Officer of the Town, which is officially a corporation known as the Corporation of the Town of Oakville. Our Corporation and its wholly-owned electricity distribution utility have nearly 1,200 employees, an annual operating budget of nearly $300 million and assets worth more than $1 billion. So there are some parts of the job that go beyond gavels and ribbon-cuttings.

Here is what the Municipal Act actually says about the role of Mayor:

It is the role of the head of council, (a) to act as chief executive officer of the municipality; (b) to preside over council meetings so that its business can be carried out efficiently and effectively; (c) to provide leadership to the council; (c.1) without limiting clause (c), to provide information and recommendations to the council with respect to the role of council described in clauses 224 (d) and (d.1); (d) to represent the municipality at official functions; and (e) to carry out the duties of the head of council under this or any other Act. 2001, c. 25, s. 225; 2006, c. 32, Sched. A, s. 100.

As chief executive officer of a municipality, the head of council shall, (a) uphold and promote the purposes of the municipality; (b) promote public involvement in the municipality’s activities; (c) act as the representative of the municipality both within and outside the municipality, and promote the municipality locally, nationally and internationally; and (d) participate in and foster activities that enhance the economic, social and environmental well-being of the municipality and its residents. 2006, c. 32, Sched. A, s. 101.

Oakville.com: Please tell us about some of the community events that you are involved with.

Mayor Burton: Sports, arts, cultural, charity and economic development groups get most of my community events time. Kerr Street Ministries and Community Living Oakville are my highest charity priorities. And as Mayor, I kept convening last year for the Minor Oaks Hockey Association because it’s fun to see my friends and volunteering is an important part of helping Oakville become the most livable town in Canada.

Oakville.com: What projects are you presently working on that affect the residents of Oakville?

Mayor Burton: It’s always been important to me to deliver on promises. The five biggest projects at the top of my To Do list are:

1. Getting approval from the Province of the new Official Plans of the Town and the Region to control growth. This was my top campaign promise.
2. Driving our capital budgets to maximize our catch up of needed facilities and infrastructure to catch up and keep up with growth. This was my 2nd campaign promise.
3. Making sure our new Development Charges by-law raising developer fees 60+% survives any challenges. This was my 3rd campaign promise (get growth costs off our taxes).
4. Promoting economic development to increase our revenue from other sources than residential property taxes, with a focus on high-value jobs for Oakville.
5. Keeping Oakville’s property tax rate the fifth lowest (or better) of the 26 GTA municipalities in the 2010 Town and Regional budgets, which are almost ready for public review this fall, and completing next year the 3-year shift to Performance-Based, Program-Based (“PB2″) fiscal management, which will make us the only government at any level in Canada to use this modern budget and management system.

There are also some current “hot spot” or “ad hoc” issues capturing time and attention, all of which have an impact on our goal to become the most livable town in Canada:

• Relocating or mitigating a new addiction control clinic opening awkwardly and insensitively on Kerr Street (others in Oakville operate without problems, but this is a sensitive location)
• Fighting against a proposed power plant in Southeast Oakville and if it goes ahead, fighting to reduce the pollution it will cause
• Improving Town rules on drive-throughs to protect near-by residential areas
• Winning our OMB cases (we have not lost a case at the OMB since taking office)
• Creating Oakville’s first “district energy system” to save energy and cut pollution
• Creating a shared community vision for what will become of the surplus school properties across Oakville (north and south!)
• Creating a shared community vision for what will become of the old Hospital site after 2014
• Creating a shared community vision for saving the old OTHS site after 2014
• Creating a shared community vision for the DND lands for when Canada Lands develops them
• Rejuvenating the 16 Mile Creek harbour so it is more enjoyable for more people
• Finding a way to restore waterside dining in downtown Oakville
• Finding ways to end old special deals made to deny the public access to waterfront
• Working to make our recent transit expansion to a grid bus route system a success
• Developing Green Energy projects under the new powers the Province has given us
• Getting restoration for the two developer-held Heritage sites recently destroyed by fire
• Building Oakville’s first two Habitat for Humanity houses in 2010
• Pressing Canada and Ontario to make good on promises of a GO parking garage

Looking forward to the results of my five current Mayor’s Advisory Groups:

1. Sustainability – led by Clr Allan Elgar
2. Plastic bags & bottles – led by Clr Max Khan
3. Naturalizing trails – led by Clr Ralph Robinson
4. Public notice standards – led by Clr Cathy Duddeck
5. Arts & cultural economic opportunities – led by Clr Mary Chapin

My personal objective is to make it as easy and convenient as possible to contact the Mayor for any need the Town can address better and any idea that can make the Town more livable. A journalist asked me what I do most as Mayor, and I said what I do most is listen. What I like most is to listen for good ideas. Even when I hear a complaint I’m really listening to an idea for a way to do something better. As Mayor, I use a delegating style as CEO and a consensus builder style as Head of Council. This involves listening to our professional staff and our councillors and stakeholders throughout the Town so we can make the best decisions possible. In a town like Oakville, filled with people who aim high and know how to achieve their goals, when we work together with respect, creativity and imagination the only direction for us is onward and upward.

Oakville.com: Thank you for your time Mayor Burton.

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing series of interviews conducted by Oakville.com with local government leaders. Please post your feedback and questions for Mayor Burton in the Comments section below.

About the author: The Editor

This account managed by the editorial staff of Oakville.com to post general interest articles about Oakville and Opinions/Letters to the Editor. If you would like to submit an article to Oakville.com, click here.