Fresh air

There is a new air around Shire Hall these days. As if the doors were opened up and a spring breeze allowed to penetrate the deep recesses and niches in the historic seat of local government.

It seems obvious now that the County, and I daresay many other communities, were illprepared to manage an amalgamated municipality when the arrangement was forced upon this community in 1998. Folks who had overseen budgets of a few hundred thousand dollars in their ward were suddenly thrust into positions in which they had no training, little experience and inadequate expertise. Worse, their managers and council had little to draw upon to guide them.

Soon, however, the new roles and the hike in the pay scale began to feel pretty good. By then the province had largely abandoned its amalgamation project so there was little oversight. Municipal managers were on their own.

They were in the big time now. In 2003 council hired a consultant to assess the impact of growth that they all expected was charging their way. Then they misread the report and set about to prepare for the population of the County to explode to 36,000.

Shire Hall embarked on ambitious financial engineering schemes to deal with 1,100 kilometres of roads. The result was $11 million in debt and roads no better than when they began. They built a new sewage plant in Picton. Original estimates were about $10 million. The final bill isn’t in yet—but it will have cost more than $30 million when it is tallied.

Meanwhile wages and benefits costs skyrocketed. More seniority meant more time off, which led to greater staffing requirements. The middle ranks got fatter—but added little to County services and programs.

Council was operating mostly blind in those years—budgets were targets for managers who couldn’t shoot straight. There was little accountability and ample room to squeeze out of any jam in which managers found themselves. Money flowed easily from one account to another. No one was the wiser.

All that has changed. First Susan Turnbull arrived. Then James Hepburn. Together they organized a $60 million organization into an accountable, structured and transparent machine. Now councillors may peer deep into the organization to understand how much is being spent, how it compares with previous years, and ask real questions about whether each expenditure is still needed.

There is a wealth of financial and operating data available to anyone on the County’s website. Never have County residents been so equipped to monitor and measure the performance of their local government.

Rob MacAuley came next. He took the reins of the department that consumes most of the taxpayers’ dollars—roads, bridges and infrastructure. He began by applying rigour to transactions and processes that didn’t exist before. He reprioritized road work based upon objective need rather than those with the most persistent lobbying effort.

Merlin Dewing then arrived as County manager. A decade of neglect and lack of clear direction had left the municipality with low morale and some poor work habits. The operating principle behind most tasks in the County until then had been: that this is just the way we’ve always done it.

Dewing’s job is to turn this around.

The first step was to shake up the organization— to ensure the right folks were doing the right jobs. And to make sure the job in question still served a useful purpose. When this exercise was completed last year Dewing had eliminated 15 positions and assigned new duties and responsibilities to 29 others.

For the first time since the County was amalgamated, overall municipal spending is projected to decrease this year—by more than $1 million. Much of this has come from lower wages and benefits costs. More savings are expected next year as the full effects of the reorganization are realized.

But Dewing hasn’t been slashing and burning. At every step, staff and managers have been encouraged and rewarded for assuming a more customercentric approach to their jobs. Training is an everyday part of the workplace now.

Dewing was also the mastermind behind the County’s Aging in Place strategy—harnessing County resources and aiming them at providing workable solutions and incentives to address one of the critical issues facing this community.

The County’s local government is on a solid financial and operating foundation for the first time since 1998. It doesn’t mean things are perfect or that there aren’t serious issues still facing this municipality and community.

What it means is that we are at last free to talk about issues, policy and goals rather than wring our hands about basics such as the competence and capacity of County managers.

This is a long leap forward for this administration— and we are all beneficiaries. Those of us inclined to grumble about our local government need to remind ourselves of these achievements from time to time.

More importantly, it is time for some on council to catch up with this changed reality.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca