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Council Watch – April

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Full council and committee agendas and minutes with links to documents here:
http://princeedward.fileprosite.com/Documents/DocumentList.aspx?ID=7431

Coming up:

April 12 – Council Meeting 7:30 p.m. Shire Hall
April 14 – Committee of the Whole Meeting 1 p.m. Council Chambers
April 18 – Strategic Planning Workshop 9:30-4  Wellington District Community Centre
April 20 – Committee of Adjustment Meeting 6:30 p.m. Council Chambers
Planning Public Meeting 7 p.m. Council Chambers
Police Services Board 1:30pm Council Chambers
April 21 – Heritage Advisory Committee Meeting 9 a.m. Edward Building
April 26 – Council Meeting 7:30 p.m. Shire Hall
April 28 – Committee of the Whole Meeting 1 p.m. Council Chambers

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  1. Rob says:

    ” It would be worthwhile for the County to put short profiles of senior County staff and Councillors on the website so that County residents could get to know them better”.

    This makes huge sense to me from Gary

    …as does this as well: “By being aggressive, searching and contacting potential candidates ( yes Gary, I know of one, lives close to you) you are telling “the market” you are serious about this”. – from Richard

  2. Rob says:

    Looking at these questions from a 3rd party perspective, it seems to me that a well publicized period of trolling for quality people, using a complete synopsis of what’s needed, wanted, what’s involved in the project, a request for names of people who might be approached both inside and outside the county, a small team to go after them (important) and an interim deadline for evaluations up to that point,along with a final deadline and a committed decision process ( not too complex)- would that be worth thinking, discussing and then agreeing about make any sense?

    Seems impossible to know the field unless one truly scouts the field with an open eye for who you want…not simply an acceptable choice.

    What’s the time frame? What are the communication forums or arenas? Who within the area truly wants the challenge and the role? What are the’cherries’offered? Maybe they’re close at hand but off radar?

    How about an outline of the ‘game’ description published and sent by letter and email to prospectives asking for a draft ‘game plan’ they may offer up front?

    It’s all about marketing the county and creating some excitement to shake the apples out of the trees…is it not?

  3. Richard parks says:

    External contracted help is required in my opinion. Internal County staff cannot work on this project. In the case of the HR director, (who reports directly to the Commisioner of Corporate Services); what if the Corporate Commissioner-(her ‘boss’) applied for the CAO’s position? Or another fellow employee? Too much to ask of internal staff to find themselves”rating” their current boss or fellow employee. Set’s them up for all kinds of bad workplace politics/second guessing/ rumours. Besides I think it contravenes The County’s hiring Policy for hires at this level, and I for one think it’s a well thought out policy, paticularily at this level.
    As for plodding along and taking your time to make your decision, well I was part of council last term when 3 out of 4 Commissioners position’s were vacant for very long periods of time. Not the way you would choose to do business at this level.
    By being aggressive, searching and contacting potential candidates ( yes Gary, I know of one, lives close to you) you are telling “the market” you are serious about this.

    One last comment on the Committee. When you look at the HR background of many Search Committee members, esp. Mayor Mertens and Councillor Dunlop, I’m not sure any other Municipal Council in this area could produce such a qualified group. I hope they prove me right.

  4. Killashandra Ree says:

    My point was, that if we have qualified staff who can assess a candidate’s experience and qualifications there was no need to hire a consultant. Of course, if we could not find anyone to fit the job (as far as I undersatnd it, the current CEO did’nt even work at full week, so I am not sure how critical it was to find a replacement right away) we could always have hire a consultant/headhunter at a later point to help up out.

    Gary, I am well aware of what a headhunter does, having been hired by a large company using them, once or twice. Do you know how they get those contacts? I do. And believe me, I know that by advertising, and not rushing the process, we could have done it for far less seeing we had a qualified committee to over see things.

    What was the point of the committee, if they handed over the search to the headhunters? That only guarenteed the headhunters got paid, not that we necessarily go the best man(or, hopefully woman) for the job.

  5. Gary Mooney says:

    Richard, I’m pleased to learn that James is a County resident and would be equally pleased if we found our CAO here in the County.

    It would be worthwhile for the County to put short profiles of senior County staff and Councillors on the website so that County residents could get to know them better.

  6. Richard parks says:

    Gary: I’d be happy to correct you. The current Treasurer is a life long County resident. He does an excellent job in my opinion. The Commisioner of Corporate Services while not born here, was raised on a farm near London Ont.and is I believe an UEL descendant, which makes her
    “at home” in this part of Ontario.
    The Commissioner of Public Works, an Engineer by way of a degree from the University of Guelph was raised on a farm near Shelburne and has been a cattle farmer over the years as well.

    As for your prediction that few candidates for CAO currently reside here, don’t be too sure of that.

  7. Gary Mooney says:

    Killashandra, there are two main requirements for such a search. One is to find well qualified candidates, which is what the recuiter (aka headhunter) does. They have existing contacts throughout Ontario with people who have the requisite municipal experience. It often happens that a recuiter will be able to interest someone who is performing well in his/her current job and who would not otherwise answer (or even see) an ad.

    The other requirement is to choose, from the identified group, the candidate best suited to the position. Each candidate has a unique skill set, experience and personal style. This is very much a job for the Council subcommittee headed by the Mayor.

    Doris, a key requirement for the job of CAO is relevant municipal experience at a senior level. While there are many talented people living in the County, I doubt that there are many here who have this type of experience. If we hire someone who is well eperienced, this person will be more effective at the outset in helping staff to improve their job performance and career prospects.

    I believe (but could be corrected) that the three Commissioners and Treasurer hired during the last Council term, are all from outside the County. Of course it would be preferable to hire someone locally, but experience and qualifications must come first.

  8. Richard Parks says:

    Ask your Ward Councillor. His/Her E-mail address is public knowledge too!

  9. Killashandra Ree says:

    So why did we spend all that money to hire a consultant if we have a qualified committee?

  10. Richard Parks says:

    Killashandra Ree: No, actually. I meant what I said . The names of the Committee Members are public knowledge. Look them up.In my opinion they are qualified to make a recommendation to Council. Sounds like you don’t agree with me? I can’t help you too much in that regard!

  11. Killashandra Ree says:

    What “well qualified committee” ? If we had one in place why would we need to hire a head hunter? Didn’t you really mean to say “well paid consultant”?

  12. Richard Parks says:

    It certainly has been advertized locally. I have seen several ads in the last few weeks. There is a well
    qualified committee in place to select the next CAO. Council owes it to ratepayers to select the best qualified candidate….. regardless of their current
    postal code. Hiring a person, especialy one for the
    top job should be done without bias toward their birth place, in my opinion.

  13. Doris Lane says:

    I read in the newspaper the closing date for applications for the new ÇÅ0 was April 18th. I do not remember seeing it advertised in the local papers.
    I am sure we have much better candidates for the job than can be found outside the County. This is one of the problems with the Council they seem to go outside the county to hire for a lot of positions.
    Let’s hope they find someone who is qualified for the job and will spend time trying to sort out the mess that the county is in.

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