The Town of Peace River is addressing residents’ concerns about organizational growth after some individuals voiced concerns of staffing level changes that occurred during the last council term from 2021-25.
“Administration felt it was necessary to address staffing growth after it became apparent during the recent election that inaccurate claims were being raised regarding changes to the organizational chart,” explains Mayor Shelly Shannon.
“Providing factual context was important to support transparency and an accurate public record.”
In their document in the Jan. 12 agenda package, CAO Barb Miller points out that for full transparency and to ensure truthful information is spoken in the community, administration completed a review of the Town’s organizational staffing levels over the 2021-25 term and analyzed the findings.
“Misinformation in any form can breed negative perception of the way in which council spends taxpayer dollars,” explains Shannon.
“The new council has committed to transparency and information sharing with our residents. This fosters the trust that is crucial between our ratepayer and council.”
The complete analysis provides information about the changes in number of positions and the impact on the organization and budget. After a complete organizational review, only 2.8 new full-time permanent positions were added.
The complete breakdown of the analysis is available to the public in the Jan. 12 agenda package.
“The additional positions were added in response to identified service gaps and strategic priorities,” explains Shannon.
“Following long-standing limitations in economic development capacity, the Business Retention Specialist position was created based on recommendations from the economic development committee to provide focused support to local businesses—an area that had not been meaningfully resourced for decades.”
Shannon adds as a result of some safety concerns in the community, some programs were created and required guidance by a new employee.
“Another example, the introduction of the Community Peace Officer (CPO) program required appropriate leadership and operational support, leading to the hiring of a director and additional staff to ensure the program was implemented responsibly and effectively,” she explains.
“Public safety was identified as a high priority, and these roles were necessary to support that objective. The positions added were targeted, and essential to advancing council’s priorities and moving the Town of Peace River forward.”
Shannon says the information analyzed was a result of residents requiring clarity in the daily operations of the Town.
“Given that the Town has experienced limited population growth and development over an extended period, it is understandable that residents would have questions about the size and structure of the organizational chart,” she says.
“Residents are entitled to that transparency, and we were more than happy to provide it.”
A complete breakdown of the organizational chart comparison between 2021-25 can be found by visiting peaceriver.ca.
Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter