With the recent resignation of CAO Tully Clifford i felt it was time for another article. At the time he was recruited i felt that it was odd that we had to get a CAO all the way from California. However it refreshed my memory about a conversation i had with a previous CAO prior to his leaving. We came to know each other fairly well during his term and had a few "off the record conversations". Before leaving he explained that the mayor and council are too concerned about micro-managing and will not allow the people they hire to do their jobs. This opnion was reinforced after dealing with a couple of recreation direcors that " didnt work out". This did not surprise me given the amount of supervision we have gone through at the municipal office at that time. He also related to me that the word is out there and it will be very difficult for the municipality to attract the type of people they need to turn things around for this community. Through my involvement with minor soccer and the ski hill i have dealt with the previous mayor and various councils and i realize exactly what they were referring to. I just wonder is there any other community that has gone through as many CAO's , Rec Directors and Public works superintendants as this one has over the last ten years? I also wonder what the local media is going to do to put a positive spin on this . The Promoter seems fair in their reporting but we all know the position the Herald took prior to the last election and their count down for change. I would also like to hear what the group that approached municapal affairs to have the previous council removed is saying now. So much for change.
change, change, change
change, change, change
If I were your brother
could I spill your blood on me
We, who share a mother
would we spite the sons
she sees?
Walls are crumbling
cities are burning
the presidents on tv
bombs are falling
the fire is rain
as walls close in on me
change, change, change
change, change, change
If Fate brought out a leader
would you kill him for your cause
Though he be your sole salvation
pull the trigger without pause
Faith is crumbling
cities are burning
the war's on cable tv
Hope is falling
the fire is rain as
walls come down on me
change, change, change
change, change, change
If there's one solution
there could be one for every man
who cries for constitution
finds belief inside of "can"
The clouds are lifting
The houses, the homes
The soaps are on tv
and me, asleep somewhere
in this country
basking in the dream
change, change, change
I'm basking in the dream
Peter, I'm glad to see you, Dean and myself all on the same page on this issue. We're all in agreement in what has gone on here for the last 10 years or so, with the management turnovers and such. But now what about the next ten years?
ReplyDeletet seems just as last election was suppose to be a turning point or crossroads for this community, we are back at it again. We are again at a crossroads.
I say council needs to come out on the side of management, and not the mayor and his cronies who appear to be working for vested interests and *not* for the community as a whole.
What do you say?
john i am trying to be generous to the mayor and council but it is like putting perfume on a skunk. Lets face it their has always been a problem here between council and administration and this one is no different. If you hire a CAO he is there to make some critical decisions if council yields to public pressure and overrules the CAO that probably doesnt sit well with him. Was the Blairmore trailer park one of those contentious issues where the mayor and council yielded to public pressure then we can blame ourselves as much. If you read the article that featured this CAO six months ago his plan was to look into some of these areas when he first started with the municipality.
ReplyDeletePeter, as one of Dean's commenter's astutely pointed out from Tully's resignation letter, it looks like the employees ganged up on him for organizational, policy, o/t, etc. changes that did not sit well with them, and the mayor and some (all) of council caved in to their crying (demands). If this is the case then in my opinion mayor and council dropped the ball giving in to a special interest group, and as such have lost all credibilty in my eyes as being progressive reformers. Instead, now it looks like they are nothing more than regressive conformers.
ReplyDeleteThen again we can look in the mirror because this all came about because the locals and municipal employees were very critical of the snow removal policies this winter. You do remember your posting on the subject i hope. Also i believe there was other problems. Just from what i have heard and read--- a grader that was ordered without a wing blade a backhoe that didnt have a big enough trailer to hall it etc. There are some issues with co-operation between departments these things just dont get overlooked. It looks from the outside the people that actually do the work are not being involved in the decisions and that is the end result. I have seen it many times in my workplace as well.
ReplyDeletePeter, as Dean or someone pointed out the employees here have had a lucrative gravy train going on here for years, to the tune of $4-500,ooo annually in overtime. I remember seeing a long list of employees, many of whom had racked up 6 months of o/t.
ReplyDeleteManagement from what I understand tried to deal with this on the taxpayers behalf along with implementing policies (snow removal, which as you pointed out I disagreed with , but that is neither here or there) and procedures that actually made our municpal workforce more productive and accountable. Heaven forbid! Imagine, well paid employees actually having to work for a living?
Anyhow, considering most of what we are talking about here relates to the public works department, I'm not sure why it was the CAO who quit and not the Director of Operations?
In the final analysis it still looks like a special interest group (municipal employees) got the ear of council to maintain the status quo, and if so, my earlier comment still stands...
"If this is the case then in my opinion mayor and council dropped the ball giving in to a special interest group, and as such have lost all credibilty in my eyes as being progressive reformers. Instead, now it looks like they are nothing more than regressive conformers."
On this basis would you not agree (and you too Dean) with my conclusion? Do we want to continue going backwards, or are we 'finally' going to put a stop to it?
I read the article from six months ago, I have read everything in the press since the CAO was hired nothing but positive. Read the Mayors comments over the last six months about his administrative team.
ReplyDeleteI went through the hiring process it was unanimous that he was the best candidate.
I just answered this question on my blog with two comments.
One being that yes previous council hired the best possible candidate, with all comments between then and now from the media, the present council etc confirming that.
Two what happened between November 15th and now?
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what is going on with the municipal employees. I am sure most of them have been there long enough to have the system figured out. Most companies have issues with employees building their own overtime and i would expect the municipality to be no different. However there would be a lot of legitamite O.T. that would be required and it is cheaper to pay the O.T. than hire more full time employees. This is where the CAO would step in and put a limit on things. However when it comes to snow removal i believe the municipal employees are doing there best with limited equipment and manpower. I f O.T. is required then thats just the cost of keeping the public happy.
ReplyDelete