Winnipeg, MB – Mandate letters have been delivered and are now available online for the public to view, Mayor Brian Bowman announced today.
“Mandate letters help provide those in leadership roles with a roadmap toward meeting expectations and a publicly available tool for residents to hold chairs to account,” said Mayor Bowman. “As we collectively begin to adjust to a new normal, I want committee chairs to have increased focus on the impacts of COVID-19 in their portfolios.”
Mandate letters provide direction on key responsibilities and outline expectations of those serving in various leadership roles. Mandate letters for the chairperson for each of Council’s six standing policy committees, as well as for Councillors serving as Deputy Mayor and Acting Deputy Mayor and the chair of the Winnipeg Police Board, have been in place since November 2016.
“Last week, I held individual meetings with committee chairs, as well as the Deputy and Acting Deputy Mayors and the new chair of the Winnipeg Police Board, to discuss the changes in leadership roles and the mandates associated with each portfolio,” said Mayor Bowman. “There is no doubt the world around us has changed and those in leadership roles need to be extra attentive to balancing the impacts of COVID-19 on our residents, as well as the impacts to the City’s finances.”
The global pandemic has caused a public-health and economic crisis whose scope goes beyond what most of us will see in our lifetimes. Winnipeggers have pulled together and done their part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to protect one another’s health but the path to economic recovery will not be easy.
Residents and our economy are hurting, and the City of Winnipeg must continue to be there for Winnipeggers. This Council took a leadership role in providing temporary relief on penalties for unpaid property and business taxes while continuing to tweak policies and procedures to help residents, like the relaxing of enforcement on residential parking.
“As a community, we will continue to pull together to battle the impacts COVID-19,” said Mayor Bowman. “It has been a challenging few months for everyone and I’m hopeful that as the Province continues with plans to reopen, there will be renewed optimism in our city. While we continue to navigate the unknown, the refresh of leadership roles and mandates will offer fresh perspectives on issues facing our city and I want Winnipeggers to know that we are up to the challenge.”
Mandate letters can be found on the Mayor’s website under the ‘Priorities’ tab at:
https://www.mayorbowman.ca/priorities
As indicated in last week’s release, all changes in leadership positions will take effect on June 27, 2020.