Councillors take second look at hiring

Posted By CHELSEY ROMAIN, THE DAILY PRESS

Timmins council is reconsidering some hiring decisions it made last year.

The change of heart stems from Xstrata Copper's announcement in December that it will be shutting down its Timmins metallurgical site in the spring. Council has had to take into consideration the loss of property revenues from that facility.

Council initially agreed to a request from the city's culture, leisure and tourism department late last year to fill two positions -- a recreational supervisor and special events co-ordinator.

"We know going forward in the coming years we're going to have to look at early retirements, how we rehire now and all that stuff," Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren said. "It's a lot easier to do that re-looking when you have no one in those positions."

Several councillors questioned the need for these positions even at the time it was presented. Coun. John Curley saw holding back on the special events co-ordinator as a chance to save money and questioned whether or not it would be a good idea to give the responsibility to somebody already on staff at the Shania Twain Centre.

"If you were to really look at those departments, there's not that many people in them, especially full-time," Laughren said. "So going forward and not replacing these two jobs, it will have an impact on the restructuring."

Council is still waiting for recommendations from staff on that issue.

In the meantime, the community development and services department presented its annual report last week.

The report provided an overview on a number of municipal facilities. It showed users of the pool was the highest since 1981 while the number of people using the gymnastic facility was down slightly from the previous year.

The report also showed the Shania Twain Centre and Gold Mine Tour brought in a total of $59,501.72 in ticket sales, as well as nearly $7,000 in rentals.

Coun. Dennis Saudino said they need to study how they can increase revenues at the Shania Twain Centre.

"I'm concerned with the amount of the activity there," said Saudino. "If we can't bring it up, what are we going to do with it?"

While there was a decrease in rentals, ticket sales for both the centre and the mine tour was up in 2009 compared to 2008. The centre also saw an increase in shoppers, pre-arranged groups and bus tours and visits to events hosted by the centre.

"I always look at it as what the community is made of," said Laughren. "Your symphony orchestras, theatre arts and museums -- they are all part of the fabric that makes up a community.

"If we're looking to attract doctors and professional people, they look at what the community has to offer."

Laughren said even though the Xstrata closure looms over the city, there are good opportunities to focus on and the Under-17 Hockey Challenge is just one of the examples of the good things that can happen from a partnership between the city and volunteers.

"Should we be doing more of these?" asked Laughren. "The city still had a huge role in the Under-17s, even though any dollars that come from it was because we had volunteers who drove it."

Administration is expected to return to council with a new report on the culture, tourism and recreation department some time this spring.

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