After initially postponing a human resources recruitment policy, council has approved the document as a result of more detail being added to it.
Manager of Human Resources Therese Rogers presented the updated policy to council last Tuesday (Jan. 4).
Rogers said after a review of other comparable municipalities, administration found Canmore is the only one with a policy at this level approved by council.
She said historically, human resources policies for the municipality have had a high level of detail and the proposed recruitment policy is the first that seeks to differentiate between policy and procedure.
The policy sets out all new positions must be approved by council, that position descriptions are to be reviewed and updated annually, and before recruiting for a vacant position begins, and formalizes an orientation process for all new employees.
It also states that council must appoint a person to carry out the powers and duties of the chief administrative officer’s position as per the Municipal Government Act.
The policy initially set out that recruitment for the CAO position will be conducted by a committee of council with the assistance of an external search firm.
However, Mayor Ron Casey amended the policy so that council may use a firm instead of being required to do so.
Councillor Jim Ridley made a motion to require administration to inform council when a position is substantially changed.
However, council did not support the motion as it would be cumbersome to define what a substantive change is.
Casey pointed to the business plan as the place where the structure of administration requires a motion of council to be changed. The mayor went on to propose a motion, which was passed, to require human resources to review its procedures annually to ensure they are consistent with the recruitment policy.
Gordie Miskow was the only councillor to vote against the policy, saying he felt council was crossing the line of dictating procedures to administration when it should trust its staff, who have professional designations in their field.
“I strongly believe council is out of our realm,” Miskow said. “Policy is clear, it is made by council and procedure is determined by administration.”
