Mayor Dan Mathieson can perform civil marriages
Tori Sutton, Staff Reporter If you’ve ever dreamed of being married by Stratford’s top politician, you’re now in luck.
At Monday night’s meeting, while sitting as the finance and labour relations committee, council approved the addition of Mayor Dan Mathieson to the list of municipal officials permitted to perform civil ceremonies.
Mathieson will receive no compensation for the service, which he agreed was no problem since he doesn’t expect his services will be in high demand.
“It’s perfectly fine, for the number of times it occurs,” he said. Along with adding the mayor to the roster, council also approved a motion to allow staff to conduct civil ceremonies during non-office hours, excluding Sundays and statutory holidays. The fee for the service will remain at $300.
Staff who perform the ceremonies will be permitted to take time off the following week to make up for the extra work.
Coun. Paul Nickel objected to the move, saying the city already has enough clergy and “rent-a-clergy” to perform ceremonies. “I don’t think we should be asking staff to be wedding people on evenings and weekends,” he said.
However, Coun. Frank Mark said staff presenting the proposal to subcommittee seemed enthusiastic about it. He said if it became a burden for staff, council could revisit the issue.
Coun. Bonnie Henderson asked whether city staff were permitted to accept cash tips for performing civil ceremonies.
City clerk Joan Thomson, who performs the ceremonies, said staff is not allowed to accept such tips.
“Our pay is our pay,” she said.
Mathieson explained while staff cannot accept cash, small gifts of chocolate or a bottle of wine can often be kept but first must be reported to the mayor and CAO who record the gift. All monies received are turned over to the clerk’s office.