New leadership is now in place at city hall after council on Wednesday approved the list of councillors who will sit on city committees and boards for the next four years.
Jan Harder will now chair the planning committee. Ms. Harder was co-chair last term and replaces Peter Hume, who did not run for re-election.
Diane Deans is the new chair of the community and protective services committee. As the head of the committee that oversees the city’s taxi industry, Ms. Deans will be front and centre as council deals with the arrival of ride-sharing services including Uber.
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Ms. Deans replaces Mark Taylor. Mr. Taylor is now a deputy mayor, sharing that role with Bob Monette.
Rookie councillor Jody Mitic has been appointed sports commissioner. The position, a key plank in Mayor Jim Watson’s election campaign platform, will see Mr. Mitic work to attract more large-scale sporting events to the city.
Stephen Blais will chair the transit commission, Keith Egli will chair the transportation committee and the mayor will chair the finance and economic development committee.
Council also finalized Feb. 4 as the date for the tabling of the draft operating and capital budgets. Council will consider final budget recommendations on March 11.
The mayor will also launch an online budget consultation process later this month.