"Chaos and breakdown"- An Organisational Review

On January 18, 2023, a new Tiny Township Council with four of five members who had no previous political experience met and considered a report titled “Organizational Review – Final Report, 11 January 2023.” Their actions on this report would set the stage for the chaos and breakdown of the historic and necessary relationship between Council, staff and the residents and ratepayers that they were elected and hired to serve.

The report, commissioned by the previous Council, from management consulting firm Blackline Consulting, one of the twelve firms considered, was partially funded by the Provincial government through the Ontario Municipal Modernization Funding Program. The report involved extensive discussions with Township staff and its IT consultants, reviewing then current operational and management practices. Its recommendations center on streamlining and increasing organizational capabilities, utilizing digital solutions and building a more flexible organization that is more capable of responding to the priorities of the municipality as a whole.

The report was mildly critical of the municipality for the practice of responding to short-term pressures by adding more staff rather than reconsidering the use of existing resources in a more efficient manner and utilizing modern work practices. Particularly relevant to the New Administration Centre debate, the report recommends the adoption of a hybrid work force model, including work from home which would allow optimization of existing office space and reduce the need for major capital expenditures such as, in this instance, a new 29,000 sq. ft. building.

Significantly, the report suggests a hybrid work model would allow the Township to attract, retain and better utilize its human capital. Currently, the Township, as is the case with other northern Simcoe municipalities, rely on a small local labour pool, particularly related to employees with municipal administration qualifications. Flexible work options could allow the Township to attract a wider range of candidates who would not be solely limited by commute times.

CAO Lamb’s report CAO-00123 dated January 18, 2023 recommended that the report “be received as information”, the kiss of death for anything the staff do not agree with or intend to respond to. He further recommended a copy be forwarded to the province who partially funded the report and that the “CAO provide an assessment and implementation strategy briefing at a future Closed Session of Council (emphasis mine). Whether this ever occurred is not clear.

The fact that CAO Lamb would treat a publicly funded report openly received in Committee and Council in this manner should be of concern to all residents of the Township. The manner in which the employees of the Township perform their duties in addressing the residents business is fundamentally the residents business.

This action together with the failure of this report to be included in any of the reports and material posted after the December 11, 2023 meeting or included in the 300 odd pages of supporting material included in the April 3, 2024 report cannot be considered as a simple oversight, but a clear effort to suppress information which provides possible alternatives to a major new build. This “Closed Session” treatment, whether it occurred or not, may not be in compliance with the Ontario Municipal Act, but is certainly consistent with the subsequent closed committee operations of the current Township of Tiny Administrative Centre Committee (TTAC).

Any concerned Township resident who is interested in how the Township could and should function in relation to the duties and interactions with its residents should read this report if only to see how ‘off the rails’ the current Administration and Council is.