Port Colborne hiring two new staff members for new department

Port Colborne is looking to fill two positions – one new and one old.

It’s looking for a manager of parks and recreation as well as a new economic development officer.

CAO Scott Luey said the manager of parks and recreation is a new position for the city.

“The manager position is part of the leadership team that is going to be put in place for a new department that has been created as a part of a small restructuring,” he said.

The Department of Community Services and Economic Development was formed after parts of other departments were shifted because it made sense cohesively, Luey said. Community services, he said, used to be a part of the corporate services division, but is now a part of the new department. He said the city was finding economic development projects were often involved in community events such as Canal Days, so it made sense to put the two together.

Doing this, he said, will allow the city to provide improved customer service and more productivity.

In addition to economic development, the new department will include all parks, the marina, beaches, Roselawn Centre, and all recreational programming and city festivals.

“I proposed the restructuring the 2017 budget and council approved it,” Luey said of the move.

StrategyCorp consulted on the change and brought forward a report and the city made the changes.

Luey said no jobs were lost because of this restructuring.

The city is already in the process of filling in the director position for the department and hopes to have someone this month. He said the manager will be hired by the director in the new year.

As for the economic development officer, that position is open because the person who held it decided to transfer to a different department. That position will also be filled in the new year. lbarton@postmedia.com twitter. com/ LBartonTribune