Community safety, housing, shopping local and immigration.
Those were just some of the topics covered in the mayor’s State of the City address and fireside chat Thursday morning.
The breakfast event was organized by the North Bay and District Chamber of Commerce and the Labour Market Group.
Along with an overview of all the happenings at city hall, Mayor Peter Chirico invited the business community and city residents to reach out to them.
“Our doors are open,” he says. “Not just mine but our staff’s doors to address concerns that our residents may have.”
Chirico says sometimes the answers may not be what people want to hear, but they’re working on a new approach to help find solutions.
“We’re embarking upon a customer service initiative,” he says. “Rather than saying no, [we’re asking] ‘how can we’. That’s really what our city staff are embracing and they’re doing a great job of.”
The open-door policy is being welcomed by Donna Backer, President of the Chamber of Commerce.
“The fact that they’re very open to hearing from the business community, I think that’s really important,” she says. “They’re opening their doors. They want to hear what’s going on and they want to hear how they can make things better. I think that’s very encouraging.”
Backer also says the Chamber is planning on hosting more events like this with the area’s provincial and federal politicians.
“I think it’s important that we continue to communicate and educate what’s going on,” she says.
This was the second State of the City address Chirico has offered the community this year, after providing an update at Council in mid-January.
