Editor, The News:
Congratulations to Peter Grootendorst on his new position with the Justice Institute.
Unfortunately, this is yet another example of the tail wagging the dog in Maple Ridge.
Why has it taken the resignation of one of the fire chiefs to initiate a study as to whether Maple Ridge’s two-chief system is appropriate?
Wouldn’t good administrative practices suggest a review was required a long time ago?
The fact that Maple Ridge is one of the few municipalities to have more than one would suggest a study is not required at all.
The only decisions necessary could be done by Maple Ridge Fire Chief Dane Spence.
Review Mr. Grootendorst’s duties, decide which ones are absolutely required, and distribute them between chief Spence, the four assistant chiefs, and other existing administrative staff. That could save the district a pot full of money.
And, incidentally, it is a lot more than his annual salary of $152,000, or more than $12,600 every month.
After adding the costs of benefits, pension contribution, employer portions of CPP, UI, and Worker Compensation, and any other perks a chief receives, the savings would be well in excess of $200,000 annually.
As Maple Ridge Mayor Ernie Daykin was well aware of the situation when he first became mayor almost five years ago, action at that time would have saved the district close to a million dollars.
This is not the only example of our bloated administrative bureaucracy; sadly it is but the tip of the ice berg. Will the voting public remember next November that changes are needed or will we continue to drown in our policy of “status quo”?
Graham Mowatt
Maple Ridge
