She ran city hall like a corporation for shareholders, and not a city with stakeholders. That was her fault and she very well could excel in the private sector, although I don’t think management accounting was her strong point even though that is why she was hired.

I think the city would have been better to create a parallel position at city hall like a CEO position of sorts that would work alongside Beth James, but have all the real power. It wouldn’t be long until she left of her own accord without a severance package and in the meantime the new top boss would have some better insight as to where all the skeletons in the closet are. There is nothing worse than coming into a job where the last guy or gal quit after doing their best to cover their tracks… and the learning curve can be another cost added on to the type of transition that leaves a vacuum.

If it was a council decision than I think they did the right thing. Get a fresh start with a new city manager that works for them and their direction. A new city manager that respects the role of working under council, rather than above council. My only hope is that they will have the smarts to limit the term of the contract until just after the next election so the next city council can have more leverage at less cost if they too need to make changes at the top.

I think Skakun’s photo of the works yard with all the equipment sitting idle last winter at the height of crappy roads sealed her fate as an honest broker in this city. That combined with her insistence on control of the flow of information through her was just bad optics in a real world scenario.

I first met Todd Corrigall when that water main broke on Massey Dr at Carney late last year a second time. I pulled up to the scene in my marked media car and Todd just starred at me and came over and asked who I was… Usually when stuff breaks a man in an expensive black suit isn’t the one asking who people are and why they’re standing there on a street corner taking pictures of something like water gushing. I mean some city officials really waste their time don’t they!? Haven’t had a snow clearing operation email for 7 days Todd!

I wasn’t here to know what happened from 2011-2013 with the old mayor and her crew and who was hired and fired during the time but get rid of the idiots that remain on payroll who don’t do anything.

Its never easy and most times ugly but Mayor and Council did the right thing on this matter. Improving moral and eliminating the toxic culture that has been created over the past 3+ years at City Hall and beyond is a priority, because its impossible to build anything positive with poor leadership. I believe there is still more work to be done on this, several directors should be served up retirement packages and Heather Oland would be wise to update her resume at this point. The City IMO should set an example on positive labor relations, whether you’re a union supporter or not, its hard to argue the fact that everyone deserves the right to be treated fairly and with respect.

Keep at it, Ben! The taxpayers of PG deserve far better than what they are getting. Far too much wasted money, year after year. Too many secrets at City Hall.

As soon as hall was elected there were rumblings of a plan to get rid of poor old Beth. Shari and beth needed to go but is this the right way?

Thanks Lyn, she needed to go, if you want to improve the city employee morale.

Things like this are common with the change of Mayors. Likely a couple more brown nosers will likely quietly disappear.

The picture skakun took sealed her fate.. Lol. Wake and bake today eagle one? Lol. Thanks for the laugh.

If the picture would have any impact it wouldn’t be on her.. It would be on the manager of the city works.. Guess what.. They still have their job.

I think you all are missing the obvious, could they be really checking each other out for their “performance bonuses”?

There is no need to seek a freedom of information application. You only need to refer to the statement of financial information. The only problem with doing this is this information is only released in the spring and is for the past year. This means that this information will be released in the spring of 2016.

The SOFI report contains all wages over $75,000 and all contractors or services received over $50,000. The city posts this information on their wed site

I find the comments regarding low city employee morale to be quite interesting and perhaps a bit curious!

Any time that I have had the opportunity to deal with City Hall and any of it’s departments, whether it be for taxes, fees, licencing, permits, etc., I have yet to see anyone in any department working at anything other than a leisurely pace! Nobody was exhausted, drenched in sweat, gasping for air, walking, talking or operating at a brisk pace.

At the same time, I didn’t see any supervisory and/or management staff beating, berating or hounding their staff to work harder, work faster and/or work more efficiently, all the while cracking their whips!

I have heard no complaints of staff being denied their paycheques. I have heard no complaints of staff being unable to take sick days or vacation days. I have heard no complaints of staff being denied coffee or lunch breaks.

So, what issues are causing this morale issue at City Hall? I ask this as someone who believes that our Municipal workforce, at ALL levels, are extremely well compensated for the work that they perform!

Is it perhaps because a culture has existed for many, many, many years, a culture where nobody rocks the boat, where things get done a certain way because that’s the way things have always been done regardless of whether it’s an effective or efficient way of doing things?

I think that we are all guilty of both complacency and resistance when it comes to the issue of change in our lives, but I’m also a firm believer that we are long overdue for a complete review of our Government, government at all levels and the services it provides. It’s time to shake things up a bit!

So, is the low city employee morale a product of things finally being shaken up a bit? I think that we can all agree that Green and James shook things up a bit! Obviously the shaking was a bit too much, like a 7.0 on the Richter scale rather than a mild tremor.

I am of the opinion that we are still in need of a change in the way that things are done at City Hall. Too many managers, to many ineffective managers and employees collecting wages that are too high for the work that is being done, too many same old, same olds instead of new ways of doing things!

Many years ago, I worked for a company that brought in a new management style. There was a lot of resistance to the changes that were brought in. People wanted to keep doing things the same old way, the only reason being that was the way that things were always done! Two years later, absolutely nobody wanted to go back to the old way of doing things. Work was done far more efficiently, costs were down, profitability and competitiveness was up, everybody was happy!

Some would argue that City Hall is not a business and shouldn’t be run like a business. But does that mean that it should always operate the way that it has always operated?

If Green and James tried to initiate some change, obviously they went about it all wrong! But does that mean that we shouldn’t change?

I fear that the Hall administration will be more than content to go back to doing things the way that things have always been done, for no other reason than “that’s the way we always done it”!

Hart Guy, you are a business man or you talk like one so how is it that you have all this time to give us all this sobering information?
Cheers

Retired 02, because I might be at work at 6 am, 11:00 am, 2:00 pm, 5:00 pm, 10:30 pm or maybe even 3:00 am! Because I might be working on Christmas, Boxing or Labour Day! Because I might be at home, in a coffee shop, in a hotel or an out of town office in Vancouver, Kamloops, Kelowna, Quesnel, Dawson Creek, Grande Prairie, Edmonton or Calgary! Because I own my own business and that makes me the boss, the chief cook and the bottle washer! Because my time is my own, at no cost to anybody else!

That’s how it is that I have all this time to give you this sobering information!

By the way, do you agree or disagree with my last post and also, why are you so concerned about what “we” who live in Prince George do with our time?

Cheers!

An acquaintance who has his own business told me he only has to work half days. And as a bonus being the boss he gets to pick which twelve hours to work each day.

I think it was a typo:
Should have read– morals are low at city hall. Not morale.

To me it doesn’t matter why she is leaving. The question is why we are going through so many city managers and what this has cost us, the tax payers, the last decade in wages and severance pay.

I think that the time has come for damage control. Lots has happened over the past 4 years. Haldi Road Issue, Business Licences for basement suites, proposed taxes for water that drains off our driveways, parking increases, city land deals, etc.

It is time for change and changing things at the top is very appropriate in my view.

Just curious because I am bored ,,, answer hart guys question troll 02

I just read that Detroit went bankrupt over the powerful unions in the auto industry. They shut down one at a time. Now no one works. Way to go.
organized labour.