There’s usually not much in the way of surprises at the annual State of the City speech. Every year, it’s mostly about ideas and initiatives that that the mayor’s already discussed in other venues and interviews, usually wrapped in some kind of gag or gimmick. But this year there was no gimmick, but there was something new: Mayor Cam Guthrie anointed himself a Strong Mayor, and now he will stretch out and use his powers.

“As mayor, I have an obligation to be factual and I have an obligation to thoughtfully consider what is under my control, or in my toolbox, to help people, especially when it comes to affordability and housing,” Guthrie explained in front of a sold out crowed at the Delta Hotel and Conference Centre. Like every year, the State of the City is hosted by the Guelph Chamber of Commerce.

“It is abundantly clear to me that the citizens and businesses of Guelph cannot afford an almost 10 per cent budget increase in the future. That is not okay. When cities are faced with strong issues, it requires a strong team to tackle them. However, to set the tone and the pace, you need a strong mayor. Therefore, effective today, I am announcing that I will use the Strong Mayor powers throughout the rest of this term.”

You can call it a “flip flop”, Mayor Guthrie implied that it was, but he explained that over the Christmas holidays he had a number of discussions with people who expressed their concerns about affordability and housing. They told him that they were worried about losing their businesses and feeling like they are one paycheque away from financial catastrophe. Still, the policy change is a big shift from Guthrie’s statement just eight months ago.

“In my former role as a City Councillor, I believe I offered respectful and valuable insights and ideas on issues before the city. No one mayor knows everything about every issue that comes before them,” he said. “A strong Guelph requires a strong team.”

But on this Thursday, Guthrie declared himself a soloist and pledged to take Strong Mayor powers for spin on three priority areas.

First, Guthrie is going to sign a “mayoral order” that will direct staff to shave six per cent off the property tax rate impact for 2025. Council approved the rate of 9.79 per cent for 2025 on top of the 8.52 per cent increase in 2024. The 2025 number will have to be confirmed at a meeting of council later this year, but Guthrie wants to get the increase under four per cent and give staff at the City, plus local boards and committees, a long runway to meet the goal.

“Let me be very clear, these will be very, very difficult conversations about how this may impact some City services that we’re all used to or plans even over the next few years. These impacts may be extremely difficult to accept, not only for council, not only for the community, they could also be hard on me too,” Guthrie said. “I’m giving these directions because I have high expectations for staff and council, and I’m confident that you can reach them.”

Secondly, Guthrie wants to issue a second “mayoral order” to direct staff to look at forming “strategic real estate partnerships” to turn underused City assets, surface parking lots specifically, into community housing.

And third, Guthrie wants to direct staff to bring to council a plan for a “temporary structured encampment site” for those experiencing homelessness. This sounds not dissimilar to a motion that Guthrie proposed at a special council meeting on homelessness in October, which was referred to be a topic of conversation at the Housing Symposium held last week.

The outcome of those discussions is not known, and a report from the symposium isn’t expected until March. For now, the mayor said that his direction will look at potential sites, potential sources of community funding, fundraising options, the purchase of tiny homes, and discussions about the delivery of City services. Guthrie also said that the project is contingent on support from partners including the County, local healthcare providers and other stakeholders.

“I know that what I just said may surprise some of you, please note that choosing to use the Strong Mayor Powers was not easy, but I am using the tools at our disposal to accelerate solutions during these trying times,” Guthrie said. “I am at peace with this decision because these decisions will not change who I am. I am still committed to working alongside everyone, I’m still the same Cam, but as your mayor I am confident this is the right thing to do.”

Much of the rest of the speech went as expected. Guthrie saluted outgoing CAO Scott Stewart, talked about the success securing Housing Accelerator Funding, marked the start of construction on the Baker District and South End Community Centre, and promoted the coming debate about the Public Spaces Use Bylaw next week. He also announced that he will no longer sit alone representing Guelph at the Wellington County Social Services Committee.

“There is a long-storied history regarding the relationship between the County and City, and one of my top properties when I became mayor was to restore that relationship,” he said. “I’m pleased to say that in the coming weeks we’re going to reset the Social Services Committee to include four members from County council and four members from City council. This will reset the Committee to how it used to be years ago.”

Guthrie also gave out the 2023 Mayor’s Awards to five deserving volunteers including Mike Darmon from the Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation, business mentor and employment consultant Narine Dat Sookram, Habitat for Humanity Guelph Wellington crew lead Jim Hoare, HOPE House volunteer Shannon Ostetto, and Dhruv Shah who volunteers with an extensive list of agencies including HOPE House, the Hindu Society of Guelph, Sunday Table, and the Guelph & District Multicultural Festival.

You can see the live-blog of the entire State of the City event here.

You can also watch the whole event in the video below.