Norm Gale appointed Thunder Bay city manager

Norm Gale can remove the 'acting' tag from the position he's held with the City of Thunder Bay for the past few months.

Gale was officially named Thunder Bay's new city manager at Monday's council meeting, after serving as acting city manager since the Oct., 2015 retirement of Tim Commisso.

• Thunder Bay treasurer Carol Pollard to leave job in February
• Thunder Bay city manager Tim Commisso set to enter retirement

After the meeting where council unanimously approved his appointment, Gale said he's happy to take on the new job.

"I'm extraordinarily pleased and grateful for the opportunity that council has presented here," he said, adding that he is looking forward to working with councilors, city officials, staff and citizens.

Preparing for budget deliberations in February, as well as continued work on day-to-day municipal operations and strategic planning will be among the key parts of his new job, he said.

Gale added that it's been a steep learning curve transitioning from the chief of Superior North EMS a position he was named to in 2007 to the top administrative job at city hall in a few months.

"I've been in the job for about four months and I've learned a lot," he said. "I can also tell you there's a lot more to learn."

Gale has an honours degree in history and political science, and aMasters of Business Administrationfrom Lakehead University. He has also served as chair ofthe Thunder Bay District Board of Health, vice-president of United Way of Thunder Bay, and president of the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs.

New faces in administration

Gale's appointment comes at a time of change at city hall.

A number of high-level officials in Thunder Bay's administration have retired in the past year, including Commisso, Darrell Matson, the former general manager of infrastructure and operations, and Carol Pollard, who headed up the finance department.

Working with a different leadership team isn't a concern, Gale said.

"Certainly familiar faces are gone from these seats, but you know what? We have a good team here. The city is well led."

Former environment division director Kerri Marshall now heads the infrastructure and operations department, while Rob Colquhoun, who has been the director of the revenue division, takes over Pollard's job in an acting role.

As for Superior North EMS, Gale said his move to city hall means the ambulance service's current leadership, with Wayne Gates as acting chief, will remain in place for now, and a search for a permanent chief will start soon.