Braden Smith Speaks Out In 2010 Westerly Article !!

Tofino’s new CAO shifts district office environment from negative to positive; Freedom of Information request reveals former CAO’s dropped plan for a new management structure

story by stefania seccia
Appeared in the Westerly News September 30 2010 print edition
Tofino’s chief administrative officer (CAO) Braden Smith said he wants to hire locally and be as transparent as possible with the community while a freedom of information request by the Westerly reveals the former CAO wanted council to pass a new management structure report to deal with an “unhealthy work environment.“Despite being new to the position and still assessing the strengths and weaknesses in the district, Smith already knows the main theme in his management style is accountability.
“I think the reality is we’re in a small town,” Smith told the Westerly during an interview at his district office. “We need to communicate our messages, both our successes and some of our challenges and I think what I really want to put some effort into is communicating and messaging.“
One of Smith’s noticeable changes since he took over the position after former CAO Bob Long resigned in June is hiring locally.
“All of the hires, replacement hires, we’ve made they’ve either been local or they’ve been in-house,” Smith said. “My perspective is I found it to be really challenging, being in the periphery for the last four years, the revolving door in the municipality and the cost associated with hiring someone new and then leaving has just been astronomical to the municipality.
“I think it not only huge in the financial cost, but it’s also huge operationally because it takes a bit of time to get up to speed, understanding our policies and bylaws and then you leave and then someone else has to do it.“
Last week Aaron Rodgers was promoted from assistant planner to manager of community sustainability, which will replace the director of development services position. He’s also lived in Tofino for the past 15 years.
“So the continuity of staff is something that I think we’re lacking here and a lot of it has to do with living in Tofino, it’s not an easy place,” Smith explained. “My goal to respond to that is look internally first to fill positions and I think that…it’s really good because it’s a motivator to the existing employees.“
Tofino local Nyla Attiana was given the job of director of financial services in August and Bob Schantz was promoted from building inspector to public works manager.
“I think it’s going to pay dividends in the short and long term because you’ll have long-term employees committed to the organization rather than the puppy farm of every two years people just cycle through,” Smith said.
Smith uses an example of one man who told him that in the three years he was developing his property he dealt with 14 senior staff members.
“So, when people say things are not getting done, well I wonder when a new person comes and says, ‘Yeah, I’m going to have to review the planning portion, or the engineer portion, or the corporate portion.’ Twelve of 14 people in that time is just crazy,” Smith said. “That was…my first commitment, we’ve got to fix this revolving door and I think this is the first way and it inspires the existing employees to step up and if that isn’t fulfilled, to look to the local community first because we actually have a lot of good, qualified people that live in the community that want to be here and have been here and are contributing. They just need a job.“
Smith also explained how recently one union employee said she’s noticed a night and day difference and is feeling a lot happier in her job.
“For the past couple of years…I think there was pretty significant challenges with our staff both union and management,” he said. “I think it’s really changed. I think council noticed it, I’ve noticed it and the other staff members say things are getting better.“
The Westerly News obtained a copy of former CAO Long’s organizational review, which was brought up at two in-camera council meetings on June 2 and June 8. The recommendation and solution components of the report were withheld.
However, a Tofino resident who received a leaked copy of the report from an unknown source passed the full report along to the Westerly.
While Long was reviewing the organization structure, the environment in the district office was tense.
In the report, Long described the working environment as unhealthy and identifies that it had been 12 years since a review of the district’s management structure took place. He added that the structure should undergo review every five years as good practice.
“My experience for the year and a half that I have been here is that of regular confusion regarding the completion of projects, maintenance and department head responsibility,” Long wrote in his report. “This leads to ongoing inter-personal conflict regarding authority, credit, blame, accountability for error, etc.“
He said the dysfunction was culturally embedded and has carried on for a long time, which was exacerbated by unprofessional discussions designed to undermine the management team, council and the mayor.
“Regarding the interpersonal conflict, I have mediated many of these disputes between department heads, particularly between the engineer and the director of parks and recreation,” Long stated. “I do not believe that the present interpersonal circumstances can be easily solved. These circumstances predate me.“
Long also said the staff resources can no longer grow due to limited funding and other issues such as the future implementation of a costly secondary sewage treatment facility.
“Over time, the district has tailored the management structure to reflect senior management’s strengths and weaknesses,” Long stated. “In a perfect world, management structure would reflect the ability to deliver council’s vision. In a less-than-perfect world, the structure will reflect other objectives likely more focused on the strengths and weaknesses.“
Long’s vision for the new structure was having a director of development services, director of financial services, engineer and a new position called director of operations, which would put that person in charge of both the recreation and public works departments.
“The senior managers agreed to a new management structure by consensus after looking in detail at each position and its work function,” Long explained in the report.
Under the director of operations would be the recreation programmer and foreman, with the foreman overseeing the public works and parks staff.
“The largest change in structure involved the consolidation of all District of Tofino labour forces under one senior manager as Director of Operations,” the report stated. “The engineer would cease to be involved with the public works crew and would oversee contracted projects and look after sewer/water infrastructure planning working directly with Director of Operations.“
However, Long wrote that the director of parks and recreation then pulled her support of the plan. According to Long, both Sally Mole and Mike Papuc, foreman, declined to take the new position when it was offered to them.
“This new management structure supports the coordinated delivery of District services through one manager thereby clarifying accountability and responsibility,” Long stated.
“In this way, coordination is maximized (and confusion minimized) the labour pool will build numerous skill sets and be cross-trained to the extent possible.“
Long said the community’s political environment proved difficult to deliver services and there was no tradition of civil discourse with many issues being dealt with at a visceral and personal level.
“District staff is commonly the centre of these personal attacks including being personally sued, vilified and ostracized,” he stated. “My research with past CAO’s confirms this as one of the leading reasons for staff relocation. The local government world is small and these community circumstances are well known.“
The report’s recommendation was to implement the new management structure outlined in the report, but with Long’s resignation the report will not be utilized.
The Westerly was unable to obtain transcripts from the in-camera meetings with mayor and council.
Smith said he’s read the report, but his hiring strategy will not follow the structure from Long’s organizational review.
“The reality is in any organization there are challenges and there will continue to be challenges,” Smith said, “we just need to face them and be proactive.“
A footnote to this story regarding Bob Long being removed from his position in Yellowknife
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2012/11/27/north-yellowknife-acting-sao.html?cmp=rss