Minutes

For the Finance and Administration Committee Meeting

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

6:00 P.m. - 9:00 P.m.

Tom Davies Square

Present (Mayor and Councillors)

• Councillor Signoretti, 
• Councillor Benoit, 
• Councillor Brabant, 
• Councillor Fortin, 
• Councillor Parent, 
• Councillor Lapierre, 
• Councillor Labbee, 
• Councillor Sizer, 
• Councillor McIntosh, 
• Councillor Cormier, 
• Councillor Leduc, 
• Councillor Landry-Altmann, 
• and Mayor Lefebvre 

City Officials

• Kevin Fowke, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, 
• Tony Cecutti, General Manager of Growth and Infrastructure, 
• Brendan Adair, Interim General Manager of Community Development , 
• Eric Labelle, Interim General Manager of Corporate Services, 
• Joseph Nicholls, General Manager of Community Safety, 
• Terra Posadowski, Director of Communication and Community Engagement, 
• Meredith Armstrong, Director of Economic Development, 
• Kris Longston, Director of Planning Services, 
• Liisa Lenz, Director of Finance/Chief Financial Officer , 
• Kelly Gravelle, Deputy City Solicitor, 
• Ron Foster, Auditor General, 
• Dawn Noel de Tilly, Chief of Staff, 
• Brigitte Sobush, Manager of Clerk's Services/Deputy City Clerk, 
• Rory Whitehouse, Clerk's Services Assistant, 
• and Cassandra Pierobon, Clerk's Services Assistant 

Councillor McIntosh, In the Chair

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1.

Call to Order

The meeting commenced at 4:32 p.m.

2.

Roll Call

A roll call was conducted prior to the commencement of moving into closed session.

3.

Closed Session

• The following resolution was presented:

  FA2025-04
  Moved By Councillor McIntosh
  Seconded By Councillor Cormier

  THAT the City of Greater Sudbury move to Closed Session to deal with one Personal Matters (Identifiable Individual(s)) item regarding a performance review in accordance with the Municipal Act, 2001, par. 239(2)(b).

  CARRIED

  At 4:33 p.m., the Finance and Administration Committee moved into Closed Session.

  
  

4.

Recess

At 5:14 p.m., the Finance and Administration Committee recessed.

5.

Open Session

At 6:00 p.m., the Finance and Administration Committee commenced the Open Session.

6.

Roll Call

A roll call was conducted.

7.

Declarations of Pecuniary Interest and the General Nature Thereof

None declared.

8.

Matters Arising from the Closed Session

Councillor Cormier, as Chair of the Closed Session, reported that the Committee met in Closed Session to deal with one Personal Matters (Identifiable Individual(s)) item regarding a performance review in accordance with the Municipal Act, 2001, par. 239(2)(b). No directions or recommendations emanated from the meeting. 

9.

Presentations

9.1

2024 Fourth Quarter CAO Performance Update and 2025 CAO Performance Objectives

Kevin Fowke, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, provided an electronic presentation regarding the 2024 fourth quarter performance update and 2025 CAO performance objectives. 

• The following resolution was presented:

  FA2025-05
  Moved By Councillor McIntosh
  Seconded By Councillor Benoit

  THAT the City of Greater Sudbury approves the 2025 performance objectives in accordance with the annual process established for managing the Chief Administrative Officer’s performance as outlined in the report entitled “2024 Fourth Quarter Performance Update and 2025 CAO Performance Objectives”, from the Interim Chief Administrative Officer presented at the Finance & Administration Committee meeting on March 18, 2025.

  CARRIED

10.

Managers' Reports

10.1

Appointment of Chair and Vice-Chair – Finance and Administration Committee

• Nominations were held to appoint a member as the Chair of the Finance and Administration Committee.

  The following member accepted their nomination: Councillor McIntosh

  There being no further nominations, nominations for Chair were closed, and nominations were held to appoint a member as the Vice-Chair of the Finance and Administration Committee.

  The following member accepted their nomination: Councillor Cormier

  There being no further nominations, nominations for Vice-Chair were closed, and the following resolution was presented:

  FA2025-06
  Moved By Councillor Lapierre
  Seconded By Councillor Labbee

  THAT the City of Greater Sudbury appoints Councillor McIntosh as Chair and Councillor Cormier as Vice-Chair of the Finance and Administration Committee for the term ending November 14, 2026, as outlined in the report entitled “Appointment of Chair and Vice-Chair – Finance and Administration Committee”, from the General Manager of Corporate services, presented at the Finance and Administration Committee Meeting on March 18, 2025.

  CARRIED

10.2

Jack Nicholas Business and Innovation Subdivision Street ‘C’ Cost Sharing and Development Charge Credit Applications

Rules of Procedure

Councillor Labbée moved to defer Item 10.2 to the April 22, 2025 Finance and Administration Committee meeting.

CARRIED

11.

Members' Motions

11.1

Request to Increase Councillors' Office Expense Budgets to Reflect Inflationary Costs

• The following resolution was presented: 

  FA2025-07
  Moved By Councillor Lapierre
  Seconded By Councillor Cormier

  WHEREAS the City of Greater Sudbury Councillors are each provided with an annual office expense budget to cover the cost of items such as office supplies, printing and postage, meals, travel and meeting expenses incurred in the course carrying out their Councillor duties;

  AND WHEREAS prior to and in 2016 the Councillors were provided with an office expense budget of $10,489 each annually which was reduced in 2017, and now stands at $9,180;

  AND WHEREAS the cost of expenses such as printing and postage to communicate with constituents, office supplies and travel for professional development has increased significantly, making it increasingly challenging for Councillors to stay within the set budget which has remained at the same level for many years;

  THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Greater Sudbury directs that staff present a business case during the 2026 budget deliberations for Council’s consideration to increase the Councillors’ individual office expense budgets to an amount that reflects inflationary increases for similar eligible expenses in other CGS lines of business.

  CARRIED

11.2

Putting Canada First - Greater Sudbury's Economic Strategy Amid US Tariffs

Rules of Procedure

Mayor Lefebvre moved that the notice provisions be waived and that the Motion be dealt with due to time constraints. 

CARRIED BY TWO-THIRDS

• The following resolution was presented:

  FA2025-08
  Moved By Mayor Lefebvre
  Seconded By Councillor McIntosh

  WHEREAS the United States government, for a number of months, has continued to threaten the imposition of significant tariffs on Canadian goods;

  AND WHEREAS many Canadian municipalities wish to take steps to support the Canadian economy, Canadian businesses and protect local jobs; 

  AND WHEREAS Council for the City of Greater Sudbury passed motion CC2025-51 on February 18, 2025 to request guidance from the federal and provincial governments with respect to acquisition of goods from the United States, to direct staff to develop a framework to prioritize acquisitions from countries other than the United States and to encourage senior levels of government to consider stimulus funding to assist Canadian companies impacted by the tariffs;

  NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT staff be directed to present amendments to the City’s Purchasing Bylaw at the April 22^nd meeting of the Finance & Administration Committee that will provide strategies to enable the City to prioritize procurement from Canadian and non-US entities while such tariffs are in effect or are still being threatened, wherever possible recognizing that certain Goods and Services may only be available in the United States;

  AND THAT such strategies include a review of different CGS purchasing processes and their related thresholds to maximize the ability to purchase Goods and Services from Canadian sources;

  AND THAT the review incorporate a definition of “Canadian or non-US Supplier” into its purchasing policy which includes requirements that will have the proposed work performed by a workforce of which at least 90% is Canadian or non-US based and has an office or production facility in Canada;

  AND THAT such definition be used for higher value procurements to allow for a scoring advantage to be implemented for suppliers that meet such a definition;

  AND THAT the strategies to be proposed herein be reviewed in accordance with the changes to imposed tariffs, on a regular basis with Committee with recommendations for changes to ensure their effectiveness.

  CARRIED

12.

Correspondence for Information Only

Councillor Labbée declared a conflict of interest in relation to Item 12.2 as she is employed by one of the organizations in receipt of this grant. 

12.1

Treasurer’s Report on Remuneration and Expenses Paid to Members of Council and Council Appointees During 2024

For Information Only.

12.2

2025 Annual Grants

For Information Only. 

13.

Addendum

No Addendum was presented.

14.

Civic Petitions 

No Petitions were submitted.

15.

Question Period

No Questions were asked.

16.

Adjournment

Councillor McIntosh moved to adjourn the meeting. Time: 6:35 p.m.