BY JENNIFER HOEGG
Kings County Advertiser/Register
A month after the big management shake-up at the county office, the story is still unfolding.
In addition to the chief administrative officer and the directors of community development services, corporate services and engineering and public works, two other staff members were let go.
Chrystal Fuller, manager of planning, and Satu Peori, manager of operations in the engineering department, were also dismissed.
“‘It was a recommendation from the consultants based on statistics and information they gathered. We followed through,” Warden Fred Whalen says.
“The three directors were to go because a flat organization will work better. I don’t think they mentioned the CAO in the public copy of the report.”
“They also said an engineer, Satu Peori, was surplus and the other one was Chrystal Fuller. I can’t say anymore than that.”
The county’s human resources officer, Chris Moore, confirms Fuller was away during the initial “restructuring,” so her dismissal was delayed. Her last day with the municipality was April 26.
In the HR Group Management Consultants’ report distributed to the media April 13, there is no specific mention of either Peori or Fuller’s position. The report’s recommendation for the planning department reads: “The continuing issues with regards to Planning applications, and the backlog involved, should be relieved by the recommended changes to Council operations and the formation of the new Management Team. There is nothing inherently wrong with the processes in place for amendments to the Municipal Planning Strategy or to the use of the Land Use Bylaw. It may, however, be an opportune time to review the Municipal Planning Strategy. That can be decided after the current processes have had some time to work as they are originally intended without continuing interference from some councillors.”
Bill was here
Questions about former corporate services director Bill McKennan’s last few months on the county payroll are also swirling.
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According to the Ontario Town of Orangeville’s website, McKennan took a job as that town’s treasurer in early August 2009. McKennan was on administrative leave from Kings County as of September 2009.
“He had already accepted the job before he knew he was getting his leave of absence approved,” Whalen says. “We found out afterwards he had been appointed in Orangeville.”
That wasn’t the last of McKennan. He remained on payroll as a consultant during the leave, “performing the duties of his previous position, providing direction and leadership to the corporate services department,” Moore says.
Whalen says the former corporate services director returned “two to three times” at his regular rate of pay, plus travel expenses. McKennan, the warden notes, was dismissed without benefits April 13.
Moving on
County staff is now working under acting chief administrative officer Don Smeltzer. The management consultant and municipal government expert has great hope for the future of the municipality.
“We have fabulous staff, great people who have accepted challenge and difficulties and are moving forward.”
Two jobs have been posted: one for Fuller’s job as manager of planning and one for the new position of manager of engineering and public works.
Whalen says the manager position is “basically the same thing” as the eliminated directorship of the same department. “That was part of the recommendation, that the director position be replaced with managers. It’s also much less costly. It will be a more cooperative working relationship because, before we had directors and managers, and now we just have managers.”
“There will be some similarities” between the old and new positions, Moore confirms. “Some could argue that it is simply just a name change.”
