By Clint Fleury, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Source: TBnewswatch.com
Although Mayor Ken Boshcoff was absent from Tuesday’s police services board meeting, voting members re-elected Karen Machado as chair and Denise Baxter as vice-chair.
“I’m quite honoured. It’s a lot of work, but I think we’ve done a lot of success,” Machado told Newswatch.
She said the board was challenged with a heavy workload over the year.
One challenge Machado highlighted was the inspection by the Inspector General of Policing of Ontario.
Thunder Bay Police Service and the board were informed they were being inspected in October 2024.
The inspection focused on how city police handle missing persons and death investigations in compliance with the Community Safety and Policing Act (CSPA).
“We’re really making sure that we want to be compliant with the act that we have to follow and cognizant of the needs of the community,” Baxter said.
Machado added that the board is looking forward to the inspector general’s final report and its recommendations in the spring.
Machado said the board found success in strengthening the board’s governance and leadership roles over the year.
Baxter said the implementation of the board’s strategic plan guided its workload, including hiring an executive director.
“Mr. Figliomeni just started in January, so we’re in the early stages of looking at our bylaw procedures, procedures in general of how we’ll function. Having someone full-time to be able to coordinate and do this stuff. I tried my best. I do my best to keep on top of things, but when you’re not doing it full-time, it’s not the same. So, I’m hoping that we’ll get tighter. We’ll be on top of things better,” Machado said.
Mark Figliomeni was appointed as the board’s first executive director in early December.
“I think we’re just getting more streamlined, getting more focused, and in my mind, it’s just continual improvement, that we’re working on every single month when we come together,” Baxter said.
