MOOSE JAW - Departments at city hall continue to experience “organizational enhancement” under the leadership of city manager Maryse Carmichael, as parks and recreation and planning and development have now become community services.
The two departments “will now operate as a unified team with a renewed focus on delivering customer service to residents,” while parks and rec director Derek Blais will become the director of community services, the city announced recently.
This new department will encompass all the programming and services that parks and rec previously offered, as well as the responsibilities for planning and development, building standards and land management.
The formation of this new department means Michelle Sanson is no longer the director of planning and development or working for the City of Moose Jaw. Meanwhile, a new position of manager of planning and development has been added at city hall, with that person supporting Blais and his team.
“We’re excited to move forward with a greater synergy between staff who now work closer together to provide enhanced services,” said Carmichael. “As Moose Jaw continues to grow, we are committed to finding efficiencies and (managing) our resources judiciously while supporting our employees who deliver services to residents.”
The city said in an email that the organizational enhancement will improve municipal operations and “aid in offering the best service” to residents. Furthermore, it plans to manage its resources judiciously “by using efficient processes (and) by bringing in new technology such as e-permitting, which will give residents an opportunity to apply for various permits online.”
The email added that city hall will continue to review its processes and ensure it is spending taxpayers’ dollars “appropriately,” while the “new synergy” that the community services department will provide is customer- and resident-focused.
The creation of the community services department is the third big change Carmichael has made to departments after taking over the city manager’s role in May 2023. The first major public change she made was in the summer of 2023 by combining public works and engineering services to form the operations department.
The second big change she made was this past March, after she created the department of strategic growth by combining the outward-facing branches of communications, stakeholder engagement — including First Nations relations — and economic development.
This department included the new position of grant writer, a role council approved during its 2024 budget deliberations.
The grant writer researches available opportunities for grants and funding for the municipality and works with other departments and/or third-party organizations to help write applications. That person also plays an important role in daily stakeholder engagement activities.
Carmichael told MooseJawToday.com previously that she formed the department of strategic growth to ensure the focus on community growth had the required autonomy and importance it deserved. Moreover, having the department director report directly to her office allows for clear and streamlined direction.
The next regular city council meeting is Monday, Sept. 9.
