Bruce Walkinshaw - Penticton Western News Published: March 30, 2010 6:00 PM
The City of Penticton’s senior management team would like to put council in a position to make decisions regarding the future employment of the city’s workers as soon as possible, according to the municipality’s top manager. That is why the city has contracted Jim Jones, a human resources specialist with a law degree, to work as a special assistant to the city’s CAO Dennis Back.
Since receiving the city’s core services review — a $70,000 consultant’s report apparently containing 61 confidential recommendations regarding city operations — Back and his management team have been working hard to prepare reports and recommendations to council based off the review. However, the task has been slowed down by the fact that the managers still have to designate most of their time to managing the city and because three members of the team, including the director of human resources, were fired by council, apparently based off recommendations in the core services review. “(Jones) has been brought on board for a period of two months and principally will be working with myself and the senior management committee, and ultimately with council, on the development of an implementation plan for the core services review and then actioning that plan,” explained Back, asserting that Jones’ “depth of background and experience” in HR and law will be “immensely helpful.” “My hope and expectation is that over the next two months we will have moved a significant way along the path towards completing the work that has been captured in that core services review,” added Back. “It is important that we move as quickly as we can with that and not drag this out, and that is what is behind Mr. Jones being here.”
According to Back, Jones’ fee will be part of a $25,000 two-and-a-half-month consulting package that will also include support and legal services from the law firm that currently handles the city’s basic employment law requirements. Though Jones will be responsible for some of the duties formerly assigned to the director of human resources, including perhaps upcoming negotiations with both the local city workers and firefighters unions, Back said that Jones was not brought in to fill-in the position. “I would suggest that if (union negotiations) happen within the next couple of months, although we don’t have any dates yet for the first exchange of proposals with CUPE, but if it does occur over the next couple of months he will be my representative at the table,” said Back. “Mr. Jones is not called the new director of human resources.
He is the special assistant to the CAO because he is going to have a special focus (on the recommendations in the core services review) and not on the day-to-day running of the HR office.“This goes beyond that. It goes deeper into the organization issues.” Mayor Dan Ashton said that Jones’ hiring was a great addition to the city. “There have been some substantial changes at the city and the expertise that Mr. Jones and the firm brings to us are going to be greatly appreciated during this transitionary time,” said Ashton.
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