There’s trouble at the dump, and that’s for sure.
Renfrew’s landfill is a happening place, but not as happening as it ought to be, particularly in keeping up with its legislative and policy mandates around the environment.
More than anything else, it’s a staffing issue that presents as the biggest problem, in that the landfill is under-staffed and has been for awhile. And this shortcoming bites into operational efficiency and also presents as problematic when the fellow working there has to take a day off, go on vacation, or decides to go work somewhere else.
This is not the McDougall Museum, where a choice to close the place would hurt and be a blow to the community, but would be otherwise survivable. The landfill is something that can’t be closed, so the option of shuttering the place and locking the gate simply isn’t a choice.
Back in February, staff recommended hiring a Lead Hand for the landfill, somebody who could handle the various pieces of equipment in addition to providing oversight with respect to the operation of the place and its adherence to its mandate. But as you’re likely aware, hiring a Lead Hand, a full-time position, costs money, and money is all that matters these days as Council goes through the process of identifying potential savings as a means to keeping any levy increases manageable, or palatable, two things that may well be beyond their reach but certainly not beyond their scope.
Council deferred the issue for further discussion, so here we are, with further deferrals not in the cards, owing to a situation that demands a remedy now, and not later. Because there’s trouble at the dump, and that’s for sure.
Any time you hire a new employee, and the workforce is unionized, then you set yourself up for job competitions that are internal in nature, where existing employees can jump on a job posting if somebody leaves or retires, and if they meet the qualifications and seniority requirements, can move into that vacant position. But doing so creates a cascade scenario, where the position once held by that worker is now open and is required to be filled, meaning other employees can jump into that job should they qualify. That means that there’s a great potential for role upheaval within the corporation, in this case among employees who work in the field.
Staff put five different proposals before Council, recommending one but indicating a consolation proposal should their initial one get dismissed. The secondary option has the hiring of a Lead Hand, but also the hiring of a fifty-fifty employee, one who can spend half their time working at the landfill, and the other half toiling in the Public Works department. This second employee would be seasonal in the sense that they’d work with Public Works from May to October and at the landfill from November to April, roughly six months in each posting.
Another benefit to a plan like this is that it solves an overtime problem that’s arisen due to the staff shortage at the landfill. It’s also helpful in the area of worker health and safety, as well as providing a buffer against staff vacations and illness. And of course, there’s the additional benefit of having an extra hand available to make a positive impact in the area of operational efficiency.
This is presenting as an area where Council is going to have to spend more going forward than they’ve had to in the past, and also presents as budget-proof and debt-proof. Meaning that, no matter what, a community landfill has to fulfill a certain non-negotiable function, and so would likely be an area that escapes any significant cuts to its operations. In fact, it may actually stand alone as an area that needs more funds, not fewer.
Again, with this budget, no choice is a good choice, but I suppose that’s got to do with how you look at things. Keeping the landfill operating smoothly is a good choice, it’s just that it’s a good choice that requires additional money, which kind of goes against the grain when you’ve got your cutting tools primed and ready to roll.
This may be one of those areas where Council has to bite down hard and not impose cuts. A tough call like all the others, but as I said, the dump’s going nowhere and it’s staying open, and if it’s staying open it needs to be staffed, and it needs to be staffed in a manner that is both productive, safe, and protects the corporation from undue labour grievances, workplace injury, and employee entitlements like holidays. The current operational plan of stealing employees from other sectors to fill gaps at the landfill is not tenable and contributes to a decreased consistency of the overall workforce.
A tough decision, to be sure. But looking more and more like a no-brainer.
NEWSMAGRENFREW 