Mayor's attrition policy gets an 'F'

An attrition policy to carefully reevaluate vacated jobs at the city was defeated at the hands of council Dec. 16.

Mayor Marianne Matichuk brought forward a motion to create the policy in an effort to address concerns surrounding overspending on this year’s budget and rising staff levels at city hall.

Councillors learned recently that the number of employees at the city has increased by 160 over the past five years.

The number of people employed at the city continues to grow at a current rate that is no longer sustainable, Matichuk wrote in her motion, and the rise in employment levels results in a larger cost towards the operating budget and will continue to place increasing demands on future budgets.

Furthermore, the talents and skills of existing employees may not be fully recognized or cultivated due to lack of opportunity as a result of arbitrary filling of vacated positions and lack of evaluation of the position, she added.

The proposed policy would have carefully reevaluated vacated jobs to determine whether or not a position should be reposted, eliminated, or combined with an existing position, Matichuk said. The policy would have no effect on services and no employee would lose their job as a result.

Matichuk said residents are looking at a minimum three per cent increase to property taxes. She has been vocal in her opposition to this increase since the start, and continually urges city staff to find efficiencies and value for tax dollars in the 2012 budget.

“I have heard from many residents of this community who share my concerns over the impending tax increase,” Matichuk said.

“They, too, are providing their feedback and ideas on how the city can find spending efficiencies, and many feel that the city must address its hiring practices. I believe that this policy will be a positive step forward to keeping the city’s costs down and letting our residents know that we are listening.”

The city already has an attrition policy in place when it comes to filling positions, Ward 11 Coun. Terry Kett said, and called the motion presented by the mayor “redundant,” and in his books, he would “give (it) an F.”

“There is already an attrition policy set up, and this is copying what we already have,” Kett argued. “I can't agree with a motion that says this isn't what we do.”

Vacated positions aren't filled arbitrarily, and there are policies that guide council and staff in filling each vacancy, he said.

The way the motion was presented to council basically states that the city wouldn't be able to replace the general manager of infrastructure services (following the retirement of Greg Clausen), he said.

CAO Doug Nadorozny said he thinks the city “does a good job” with its hiring process, and that staff doesn't just “rubber stamp” when filling positions.

“We do our due diligence, and, in some areas, we have reduced staff or moved them to another area,” he said.

In the end, council voted in favour of deferring the motion to allow the mayor to rework it.

“Take it, rework it, that's great, but as it stands, it's not a great motion,” Kett said.

Matichuk said she was aware of the existing policy, but the intent of her motion is to get control of it, because she said it isn't being followed right now.

It “needs some teeth,” she said. Other northern Ontario municipalities, such as North Bay and Timmins, face the same pressures, and each city has hired only three people over the same time period.

Posted by Arron Pickard