The Office of the City Clerk oversees all departments of the municipal government and the operations of City Council. Major responsibilities of the City Clerk include; presenting proposed by-laws to Council; preparing agendas for Council; providing secretarial services for Council and Committees of Council; administering vital statistics registrations; managing municipal elections, ensuring that city government is operating in accordance with provincial statutes; licensing and regulation of City services; and overseeing property tax assessments.
Other items more recently added to the portfolio of the City Clerk include corporate records management and ensuring that the City is compliant with the provisions of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, emergency planning, heritage designation, and the Aboriginal Liaison division. The Office of the City Clerk also contains two permanent committees; the Heritage Advisory Committee and the Official Recognition Committee.
In the first years following the amalgamation of the City of Thunder Bay until 1973, the City Clerk shared responsibilities with the City Coordinator’s Office and reported directly to the City Coordinator. As of April 1980, the Office of the City Clerk was a division of a larger department, Administrative Services, headed by a Director and accountable to the Chief Administrative Officer. At this time, the City Clerk reported directly to the Director of Administrative Services. In 1989, the City Clerk reported directly to the Chief Administrative Officer. In 1996, the City Clerk’s Office was positioned under the Corporate Services department and reported to the General Manager, Corporate Services. With the dissolution of the Corporate Services department in 1998, the Office of the City Clerk became a division of the City Manager’s Office. At 2014, the City Clerk reports directly to the City Manager. City Clerk appointments for the City of Thunder Bay include: D. B. Morris (1971 - 1979); H. T. Kirk (1980 - 1994); Elaine Bahlieda (1995 - 2003); John Hannam (2004 - present).
As the Office of the City Clerk oversees all functions and responsibilities of City Government, this series consists of records relating to all aspects of government. Predominant in this series are records relating to City Council, the preparation and management of municipal elections, legal agreements and the establishment of by-laws, liaisons with other institutions and levels of government over issues of health, education, road development, planning and engineering (including zoning and urban renewal), correspondence and other records regarding vital statistics registrations, records relating to finance and taxation, the Parking Authority, police and fire services, historical preservation within the City and the management of corporate records.
Also included are records relating to the administration and organizational development of the City. Some files from the Chief Administrative Officer can also be found in this series.
Also included in this series are plans relating to highway improvements and zoning of areas within the City.