Under the Municipal Act (2001), the City Manager is responsible for the overall management and control of the municipal government and the general administration and direction of all departments within the City. Reporting directly to City Council, the City Manager performs research on behalf of Council and provides advice to Council with regard to the development of business plans, programs, policies, procedures and the overall objectives of the City. The City Manager also works with City Council in the development of long term strategic plans.
Departments currently reporting directly to the City Manager include Corporate Communications and Strategic Initiatives, Human Resources and Corporate Safety, Management Studies and the Office of the City Clerk. As of September 2011, Emergency Medical Services, Internal Audit and Continuous Improvement no longer report to the City Manager. The City Solicitor and Corporate Council also report to the City Manager and City Council.
In 1975, a major review of the organizational structure of The City of Thunder Bay was performed. As a result of this review, the position of Chief Administrative Officer was created to replace the role of the City Coordinator. With the implementation of a Chief Administrative Officer, long term corporate and strategic planning became a primary function of the position. The title of City Manager replaced the title of Chief Administrative Officer.
Previous City Managers include: Bruce Thom (1994 – 1996); Brian McRae (1998 - 2002); Robert Petrie (2003 - 2007); and Tim Commisso (2008 - present).
Series consists of records of the City Manager covering a range of topics including, reports and correspondence relating to the management of departments under the City Manager’s control, records relating to the development of the Fast Forward Plan from 2000, reference material relating to the development of strategic plans, organizational charts and other records relating to planning and corporate structuring of the City, correspondence with associations and other levels of government relating to the development of regional boards addressing community issues and economic development in the area, correspondence with other
municipalities in the northwestern Ontario region regarding activities and corporate structuring.