Mayor David Anderson feels the town is heading in the right direction to get options for municipal administration.
Part of the changes will include how staff are organized and work together.
In a News release issued by the town, Anderson indicated council plans to hire a Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), who would coordinate the work of all departments and the advice that staff gives to council. In mid-June the municipality announced consultant Bill Winegard is hired on a part-time basis to put that system in place.
“Even in a municipality the size of Minto, municipal business is complex,” Anderson said. “The Town has very good staff in their areas of expertise and, in moving forward, we need strong coordination. If you look at Centre Wellington, West Grey, North Perth, Mapleton or Wellington North, they have all moved to a single-CAO system since amalgamation.”
Even though the announcement was made in June, Winegard was officially hired a month before.
Council did not debate the the move in public.
The hiring came following an closed meeting discussion by council on May 19, as council ratified its decision: “The council of the town of Minto approves retaining William Winegard, a consultant to assist the Town of Minto in coordinating municipal services.”
The effective date of the contract is from May 19 to March 31 for an upward pay limit of $37,000.
In a telephone interview with the Wellington Advertiser, Anderson said “basically we hired [Winegard] on May 17. We called him to see what we needed and he wrote up the contract, which we [council] then discussed.”
Anderson said what was happening in Minto “was a lack of leadership within the administrative sector of employees.”
He said Minto’s current senior management team approach is unique, “but to make it work you need the right individual.”
Anderson said it was a system which had worked well.
Then last year, then-Clerk Barb Wilson accepted a job in Huron County. As a result, Anderson said “The team may not have the same flow, which has caused a bit of friction among staff.”
That is why council decided to find a solution.
As a member of Wellington County council, Anderson had a chance to get an idea of what management approaches are used in other municipalities.
“I was able to talk to Wellington County Warden Joanne Ross Zuj and Centre Wellington CAO?Michael Wood.”
Through them, Anderson contracted Winegard, who has done consulting work in Teeswater, South Bruce, Saugeen Shores, and a number of other municipalities.
“We got references before we contacted him directly,” Anderson said. “Those municipalities seemed more than happy with Winegard’s work.”
Winegard, 62, is a form the CAO in the towns of Caledon and Gravenhurst, after many years with the provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
Since 2003, he has been providing management consulting to small and mid-size municipalities.
Once contacted, Anderson said Winegard came up “almost the next night.”
That was in April.
“We’ve moved on this fairly quickly,” he said.
Anderson said the work is on contract basis, but Winegard did not apply for the position, nor was the position advertised.
However, “It was fully discussed by council [in-camera], to get a full direction of what we needed.”
He said council believes “expert outside help was what we needed.”
Further, he said, councillors were fully aware in advance of the discussions he had with Centre Wellington officials.
“We did not feel we needed to seek out applicants,” he said.
When asked, the mayor said the cost is not part of the 2010 budget approved by council.
However, he is confident that treasurer Gord Duff would be able to absorb the costs somewhere in this year’s budget. He pointed out that like most municipalities, Minto has contingency funds for unanticipated costs.
“This is one of those costs,” Anderson said.
When asked how the move will affect staff, Anderson said Winegard’s role in the short term will be working in Minto a couple of days per week.
Anderson said the rest of the time Winegard will be available by telephone or email and noted, “This is not his only project.”
He added that Winegard seemed very open to talking to staff and “finding out what it is that makes Minto tick.”
Winegard’s role will be to consider Minto’s governance structure in the coming months and provide a cost analysis of four or five options, Anderson said.
“But eventually, it will be council than makes the decision on the governance structure for the future.”
Anderson was uncertain if the decision will come before the Oct. 25 municipal election.
“That’s the big kick right now,” he said.
He does not believe there was an emergency to have changes made before the election.
Anderson said the situation was what it was. “It just happens to be an election year. There’s no real direction as to whether this needs to happen before or after. We’re playing it by ear right now. With him here part time, it seems to be going in the right direction.”
Winegard will temporarily fill the position of municipal coordinator, until council finds a permanent person.
Winegard will work in Minto on a two-day per week basis. Initially, his schedule will be flexible while he takes care of his existing consulting commitments.
