EXCLUSIVE: City manager Tim Commisso reflects on his career in politics

After 42 years in public work, Tim Commisso can look back at a career and two cities that he shaped. 

Tomorrow is the outgoing Burlington city manager’s last day on the job. During that time, Commisso has helped revitalize several areas around town and personally, he holds a special few in high regard. 

“I’ve had a number of projects, from the Paletta Mansion to internally implementing a new SAP (System Applications and Products) system,” Commisso said. “The waterfront is the most high profile. This time around, I’m very proud of the work we did with Bateman, it was a quick turnaround, but we’ve got it on track.”

Commisso was brought in as city manager in January 2019, having previously been city manager in his hometown of Thunder Bay for seven years. Though the two cities have different priorities and different needs, his time up north helped prepare him for the challenges in Burlington. 

He added that there are still a few things he wishes he could stick around to see, including the city’s plan on affordable housing and the potential for 1200 King Rd. 

“It’s not completed, but the vision is out there now,” Commisso said. “I’ll do whatever I can to encourage that. I like building places that create an identity. If people come here they can say ‘hey have you been to Burlington lately? Have you seen what they’ve done there?’ and that’s tied to the fact that people experience things when they go to different communities, there’s a reason they like them.”

Some standouts for Commisso that is not as high profile is the addition of building Halton’s 5G network between the five municipalities, which he said will put Burlington at the forefront of telecommunication service when it’s finished – and the upgrading of civic square, which is underway but still in early development. Concepts for the new square are expected to be looked over in May. 

Commisso has spoken several times with incoming city manager Hassaan Basit, who starts on April 22. Basit previously worked as president and CEO of Conservation Halton (CH). 

“This job is all about relationships, and he’s done a great job at CH, he knows how to build a strong culture in an organization,” Commisso said. “He’ll find here that it’s a bit more diverse. We range from fire departments to lifeguards, and those are all front facing.”

He said the job is demanding, but enjoyable when everyone works together. 

Commisso added he’s splitting his time between a spot in Burlington and another, quieter place up north to unwind. 

However, the outgoing city manager is not leaving public life all together.

“I’d like to continue doing some good work, I’d like to continue community building,” he said. “Even with volunteering, I’ve gotten to know so many different organizations running from BurlingtonGreen to the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. I haven’t done as much volunteering as I’d like because of the demands of this job.”

Commisso was honoured by each of the city councillors during a regular meeting of council on Tuesday, where each member thanked him for the work he has done in Burlington and beyond. 

Since first joining the City of Burlington, he has worked with 13 different councillors and 10 mayors, the first being Roly Bird who served as mayor for 12 years from 1979 to 1991. 

“At the end of the day, a city manager isn’t the person who makes all the decisions, but manages change in the best way possible on behalf of council,” Commisso said.