Friday, July 8, 2011

Mass Exodus of City of WL Staff

Civicinfo BC reports that the City of Williams Lake is looking for another Senior Bylaw Officer after the current one - Brad McRae - accepted a job as the Manager of Bylaw Enforcement in the City of North Vancouver.  See the ad here

Also - the City is looking for a temporary Manager of Human Resources (1 year maternity leave).  See the ad here

According to information I've recieved - the Senior Bylaw Officer job ad is designated "Competition 11-46" which, I'm told, is the "46th" time that the City has gone out to hire an individual in 2011.  I'm also aware of another individual who works at the City and is leaving to take on a new job. 

As a City resident - I am begining to worry about the appearance of a "mass exodus" of individuals leaving the City of WL's employ - now, we know some are due to severance/restructing, some due to retirements but a mass majority of these (6) are ones which are related to "new opportunities" and with the high number leaving (13) - it would be nice to know the exact reason - morale, lack of training opportunities, etc as the perception out there is not good, especially when the City is attempting to attract the best/brightest to our City

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Too bad the exact reasons are none of your business. Did it ever occur to you that "new opportunities" might mean more money somewhere else? Or that people retire? Or that they just want to do something else?
It's not a mass exodus. Get a grip on reality Steve. Given all the complaining about out of control salaries and wages, you'd think people would be lining up to work for the city.
Of course in your fantasy world you think everytime someone leaves it's because the mayor is such a horrible person. Again get a grip on reality. Maybe instead of sneaking around and picking up your "information" you could actually talk to people. If you did, you might realize the HR manager is pregnant. Ever hear of maternity leave?

Steve Forseth said...

Thanks for your comment:

A couple of things:

1) I didn't link all of the people leaving the City of WL's employ to Mayor Cook specifically

2) Out of 13 people who have left the City's employ - we know 7 have left due to retirement or restructuring/severance which leaves 6 leaving for other oppportunities and 6 in 30 months is not, in my books, a good record to have

3) I blogged on the information I had at hand and could be accessed publically - like the Manager of Human Resources position and the Senior Bylaw Officer position. If you are saying that Ashley Williston is off on maternity leave, then thank you for that information however I do agree when people leave - unless they admit the reason they're leaving, it is nobody's business. Also - the person I referred to in leaving - I know the reason why she left and I agree it isn't the public's business but 13 people in the last 30 months is not good, from a public perception perspective, whatever the reason. And I can tell from the people I talk to and yes - they work for the City, I'm told staff morale is currently an issue

Finally - I get the sense you don't like what I write because somehow you think that I dislike the Mayor on everything. On this point - I would simply remind you that if you dislike what I write here, feel free not to read my blog in the future but I don't intend to change my writing style or practice

Anonymous said...

Brad McRae was offered the Manager of Bylaw Enforcement at the City of North Vancouver.

Anonymous said...

How did anonymous know that McRae was offered the position? Seems like information that would be limited to just a few people.

Anonymous said...

must be someone with loose lips in the city.

Anonymous said...

Or maybe it was e-mailed to every single staff person in the city with an e-mail from HR announcing the move. It's not a secret.
People get better opotrtunities and grab them.....good for them. Opportunitites are limited in a small city organization and if you want to move up you pretty much have to leave.