Winnipeg wipes out funding for CentreVenture but says agency won't be dissolved

The City of Winnipeg plans to stop funding forCentreVenturenext year, but the mayor says there are no plans to wind down the arm's-length downtown development agency.

The 2018 budget calls for the city to reduce its annual operating grant to CentreVenture from $600,000 to zero. The move reduces total city funding for economic development to $1.5million.

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Mayor Brian Bowman said the city is not trying to dissolve CentreVentureby starving it of revenue. He said the agency is in the process of putting together a business plan that will make it self-sustainable.

"We're not looking atwindingupCentreVenture. They've beendoinggreat work in the community and we want that tocontinue," Bowman said Friday at a press conference.

The mayor and CentreVenturegot off to a rocky start early during his term as mayor, when he accused the agency of cooking up an opaque deal to transfer a parcel ofdowntown land that's now part of True North Square.

This led to a rift between Bowman and True North chairman Mark Chipman, who hadendorsed Bowman's mayoral run. The mayor eventually reconciled with both Chipman and CentreVenture.

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A council-requested review ofCentreVenture'smandate in 2015 has led to the agency's new business plan, which has been completed and submitted to the city but has not been made public.

Neither the mayor nor CentreVenturepresident and CEO Angela Mathiesonwould say where the agency will receive its funding once the city grant is eliminated next year.

"We have a business plan approved by our board that eliminates the grant in lieu of other revenue sources. The city is currently reviewing that plan and we are working with city staff to prepare a report for council consideration on the plan in 2018," Mathiesonsaid in a statement on Friday.

The province, meanwhile, announced last week that it mayrestructureeconomic-development efforts to avoid duplication betweenseveralagencies. On Wednesday, Premier BrianPallistersaid potential investors in Manitoba are faced with dozens of investment and business organizations and several meetings before they can bring money to the province.

It's not clear whether CentreVentureis a target for consolidationin a review that may also include Economic Development Winnipeg, Travel Manitoba, Yes Winnipeg, World Trade Centre Winnipeg and the bilingual trade organization ANIM.

Bowman said he welcomes the provincial exercise but made it clearhe believesEconomic Development Winnipeg is "theorganizationthat's beenprovidingus with the bestvaluefortaxpayer dollars," singling out its help on a bid to bring Amazon's second headquarters to Winnipeg.

"If there are efficiencies that we can find for better outcomes for the single taxpayer we serve, I think that's a discussion," Bowman said. "But what I want tomake sure is the City of Winnipeg is at the table in making these decisions,that we don't lean about it after thedecisions are being made and have downloading as a result."