EDC budget may be axed by 27 per cent

A special meeting of City Council has been called for Monday to decide whether to chop $444,656 from the budget of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp.

The cut is recommended by Tom Vair, the city's deputy chief administrative officer for community development and enterprise services.

If approved by councillors, it will axe the EDC's budget to $1,204,166, compared to $1,648,822 this year.

Vair's initiative is in response to a March, 2016 resolution from City Council asking for a reassessment of the work of the EDC and the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre.

Vair, who until last year was the Innovation Centre's executive director, is recommending no cuts to the $277,890 that the city provides annually to the Innovation Centre.

Under Vair's proposal, EDC and the Innovation Centre would continue to operate as independent corporations, each with its own board of directors.

The local Community Adjustment Committee recently recommended that the city take a more proactive role in community development, including increased emphasis on the arts and culture, health, social services, tourism, energy, film and digital media sectors.

Vair said that the EDC's board is prepared to meet these new objectives, even with his proposed budget cut.

"They are confident it will be able to provide positive economic development results for the city with this reduced level of funding," he said.

If the EDC budget cut is approved, city staff will start discussions with other funding organizations to ensure that the Community Adjustment Committee's recommendations are met.