JOHN MOORHOUSE Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen is now taking its turn at staff reductions. The RDOS announced Monday that seven jobs are being eliminated as part of a restructuring plan designed to save taxpayers $470,000 a year. Three of the positions are currently vacant and will not be filled. The cuts include one management position, one confidential exclusion from the union, and five union jobs. Three other senior management positions were eliminated in 2009. The regional district has about 65 full-time equivalent employees on staff, with a total annual payroll of $5.5 million. The move follows the regional board‘s adoption of about 60 recommendations contained in an operational audit by RDOS management. The decision to eliminate the jobs was made during an in-camera board session last Thursday. Affected employees were informed the next day, while the full staff was told of the decision Monday. Rather than offer a severance package, laid off workers will be allowed to remain on the job for up to six months, depending on length of service and other contractual factors. The two unionized workers facing layoff are represented by the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union. A BCGEU spokesman said the union plans to meet with RDOS management today to further discuss the situation. He declined immediate comment Monday.
The RDOS board agreed to conduct the operational review this spring following its budget deliberations. The decision followed a similar core services review conducted by the City of Penticton, which resulted in the layoff of 10 management and union workers in March. RDOS chairman Dan Ashton said Monday the regional district‘s cost-cutting move was a difficult decision, but one that had to be made. “We had to take a look at how we conduct our business at the regional district and that‘s what we did,” he said. “For the benefit of those we serve, we need to move towards a more responsive, productive and fiscally responsive organization.” Ashton declined to speculate whether more layoffs will occur in 2011, but noted the audit report contains other cost-saving recommendations that don‘t involve staff cuts. “We have to adapt. Gone are those days where we didn‘t change,” he said. “This was a very intense internal audit and we looked at absolutely everything in the departments, in conjunction with the managers.”
Bill Newell, chief administrative officer for the RDOS, said the full financial impact of the cost-cutting moves won‘t be felt until 2011. The eliminated positions include an accountant, environmental planner, manager of engineering, project engineer, air quality program co-ordinator, human resources advisor, and a couple of part-time positions. Newell said the staff was obviously dismayed by the job cuts. “It‘s always disappointing when you lose colleagues,” he said. “It‘s not so hard when the positions are vacant and you‘ve lost positions through attrition, but when there are people in them that‘s what gets complicated.” The RDOS board will decide at its next meeting on Oct. 7 whether the full operational audit report will be released to the public.
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INTERNAL REVIEW LIKELY FOR REGIONAL DISTRICT Posted on 20 April 2010
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