City Council unanimously approves restructuring scheme

Employees of Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp. and Tourism Sault Ste. Marie will move to the city payroll on New Year's Day, after City Council voted unanimously tonight to approve a bold restructuring plan.

With Mayor Provenzano absent on a personal matter, councillors agreed to seek applications for vacant seats on the EDC's existing board and the board of new non-share capital corporation that will advise on tourism issues.

No one from the EDC or Tourism Sault Ste. Marie was in the council chamber gallery at tonight's meeting.

Both EDC and Tourism SSM staffers will be integrated into the city's community development and enterprise services division.

The deal had previously received approval in principle from the EDC board in a secret meeting last month.

City chief administrative officer Malcolm White said affected staff of both organizations are aware of the pending change.

"We will be dealing with them formally starting tomorrow," White said, adding that there's "a fair amount of administrative work" to be done to meet the Jan. 1 target.

In a written report to City Council, White said the restructuring will not have a significant impact on costs but "there are opportunities for efficiencies, which will be evaluated in the near future."

"Any time you bring staff into the organization, you do have to review what everyone is doing and whether there are redundancies or duplication," White told tonight's council meeting.

"On the face of it, we don't see that as a major element in this. We really see the advantage of having a one-team approach now because of the overlaps."

"It really makes things very effective for us going forward, especially if one area has a large event or a large undertaking, it's easier for them to tap resources from an associated area within that service area," White said.

"We have also stated that the funding envelope council provides for economic development and tourism development will stay unchanged. So this is not a cost-cutting enterprise."

Each board will have nine members, who will not include councillors or city staff.

"I think it's very important that council or staff are not on those boards, that there's independent advice and expertise," said Ward 3 Coun. Donna Hilsinger.

Until now, Tourism Sault Ste. Marie has been a division of the EDC, but White said the two entities will now be "separated as two verticals within economic development and enterprise services."

Tourism SSM and EDC will be brought onto the city payroll at their current levels of compensation, but job descriptions and employment contracts will be re-assessed in the context of city human resources practices.

Other news from tonight's meeting:

• Commissionaires Ottawa won a contract to enforce the parking bylaw at municipal parking lots and meters for one year starting Jan. 1
• Shelley Schell, the city's treasurer and chief financial officer, advised that the city is preparing to allow property taxes to be paid with credit cards
• an agreement has been reached to allow a Hub Trail multi-use spoke path through the Machine Shop property
• winners in the city's annual Christmas lighting award program will now receive a credit from PUC Services Inc. on their bill for the month of December
• councillors will now be allowed to judge Christmas lights in their own wards. Before now, this was prohibited