The city’s new budget will bring six new people to city hall to fill various new positions but finding qualified candidates will be a challenge, says one senior administrator.
The new budget approved on Monday includes $291,000 to pay for four professional positions: a corporate marketing manager, senior planner, tax assessor and development compliance officer. Council also approved the addition of a safety codes permit issuer and a building safety codes officer, positions which are revenue-neutral because they generate dollars through permits.
Four of the positions will be welcome additions to the planning and development department, which has been seeking more people for years, said director Curtis Cundy.
“I’ve been here coming up on 12 years and we haven’t actually added any additional staff during that time to any of those areas,” he said.
“I’m pleased to be given the faith of senior leadership and council to give us those resources. I’ve been asking for them for some time and hopefully we can deal with things and do more work for the city.”
Coun. Malcolm Parker tried to slow the hiring during the last deliberation session Dec. 7 by urging council to axe the new senior planner position. Parker wanted the department to handle its workload through internal efficiencies.
“I have a real concern when I look at the overall budget. We have a lot of requests to add employees,” Parker said.
The budget council passed will see a 2.79 per cent increase to the municipal taxes paid by homeowners.
Mayor Nolan Crouse argued that the new planner is the most important staff addition being sought, due to the backlog the city is experiencing in that department.
Crouse reiterated that stance in an interview last week, arguing that all the new staffing positions are necessary to allow the city to keep up with the various planning issues it will face in 2011. These include an area structure plan for the Badger area, creating infill guidelines and expected development proposals by Avenir and Triple Five.
“We hear that we’re not business friendly, we’re not getting things done on time. Well, part of that is we just don’t have the staff,” Crouse said. “Having been inside city hall as mayor for the last three years, I know this is where we’re under the most stress.”
The safety codes branch has been operating for years with staffing levels well below the numbers seen in comparable communities, says an administrative report provided to council. The branch is experiencing a continuous backlog and “failing to meet the minimum requirements” of the city’s quality management plan and subsequent audits mandated by Alberta Municipal Affairs and Housing, the report states.
Current staffing levels in the safety codes branch has officers spending most of their time in the field, leaving no one in the office to handle inquiries, Cundy said.
The addition of a new planner will be a big help, but the planning branch will still have more work to do than it has people to do it, he said.
But the biggest challenge will be finding experienced people who can fill the planning and safety codes positions with minimal training.
“Both of those professions are in short supply,” Cundy said. “It is very hard to find experienced people. We’ll be advertising and doing our best to find a good candidate but I think it’s going to be difficult.”
