City moves its millions to Bank of Nova Scotia

Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and city councillors sat quiet as church mice Monday night as they voted to withdraw millions of tax dollars from the Royal Bank, taking their business instead to the Bank of Nova Scotia.

Not a squeak was heard from any elected official as the change was approved as part of city council's consent agenda, usually reserved for routine procedural matters requiring little or no debate.

The decision was made one year after Shoemaker, then a Ward 3 councillor, said Royal Bank no longer deserved the city's support because it had closed its downtown branch at 602 Queen St. E.

"Royal Bank has shown they are not committed to our downtown. Therefore, I don't believe that we should be committed to them, for that reason," Shoemaker said at the time.

Councillors decided then to issue their first request for proposals for banking services in two decades

A city evaluation committee preferred the Bank of Nova Scotia's proposal over three other bidders:

• Bank of Montreal
• Toronto Dominion Bank
• RBC Royal Bank

The city will now move its accounts to the Bank of Nova Scotia for an initial term of five years, with an option for a second five-year term if both parties are agreeable.

Royal Bank has been the city's main supplier of banking services since 1987.

Transferring the city's accounts is expected to be a labour-intensive process that require significant amounts of staff time, with Bank of Nova Scotia offering to reimburse the city for transition-related costs.

Other news from tonight's city council meeting:

• councillors approved 2023 tax ratios, with 83.8 per cent of the residential properties increasing by $17.75 a month or less for municipal taxes
• a popular bus pass program will be extended to include students at some English Catholic schools
• the city will look into allowing tailgate parties and free bus passes to Soo Greyhound games