THUNDER BAY – It will be a couple of weeks until Thunder Bay’s new city council starts putting its stamp on the community, but councillors began meeting Wednesday for orientation sessions leaders say will help set the tone for the next four years.
Council will be inaugurated on Nov. 28, at its first official meeting in which decisions will be made.
In the meantime, city staff will spend hours in a series of evening cram sessions meant to catch up first-time councillors, in particular, on everything from meeting procedure and legal liability to the context for major upcoming decisions.
The first of six orientation meetings kicked off Wednesday at 5 p.m. at city hall, and was expected to last until at least 9 p.m.
City clerk Krista Power said the training “gets council focused for their first 100 days, makes sure they’re ready to understand all of the things that may be coming forward to them, things that have already been decided, council directions we’re currently working under, legislation we’re currently working under, and how the corporation functions.”
This year’s orientation is “more robust” than in the past, with staff creating a manual and a new online portal through which councillors can access documents and information.
“Part of the reason for that is our last term of council and this term of council, we have seen a significant change [of] more than five members of council,” Power said.
The new council includes five first-time councillors, three entering their second term, and five who have served at least two terms.
“I think the orientation is much more complete this time around,” agreed five-term Coun. Mark Bentz, pointing to the manual and an expanded focus on meeting procedure, which had sometimes tripped up the previous group.
“Orientation’s going to be very helpful for all of us newbies, for sure,” said Coun. Kasey Etreni, serving her first term as an at-large councillor.
Help from returning councillors is also appreciated, she added, saying all incumbents had reached out with offers of support after the election.
“There’s lots to learn, so I’m having some patience with myself, and I think there’s a little bit of patience out there in the community – you know, people are going to give me a couple of days to get my feet wet here,” said Neebing ward Coun. Greg Johnsen.
Northwood Coun. Dominic Pasqualino called it a welcoming and informative briefing.
“It can be overwhelming at the beginning,” he said. “I know although there’s a flood of information for me right now, that’s normal for this position, and you have to accept that and learn as quickly as you can.”
Etreni noted the clerk’s office had arranged seating in council chambers to intersperse first-time councillors with veterans, which she called beneficial.
“We can help guide, or if there’s any questions with procedure or what’s happening at the moment, they have a resource next to them,” said Bentz.
The sessions are also an important chance for some councillors and staff to meet for the first time, said Pasqualino.
“We’ll have to build a new relationship with everybody here and work together as a team,” he said. “That’s the most important thing."
The relationship-building aspect “can be really important for how municipal councils function,” Power agreed.
“They’ll have an opportunity to work together, learn a little bit about each other.”
Asked about the transition for new councillors now fielding constituent questions and concerns for the first time, Etreni said the topic had already come up in the first hours of meetings Wednesday, with council looking to make some changes.
“We’re going to come up with a game plan so we have a better collaborative approach when dealing with the public, so that we [don’t] have all 13 of us answering the question,” she said.
