Editor: Voters have repeatedly been told by so called “in-house” experts, that we must give unelected bureaucrats high salaries to attract knowledgeable, responsible people, with the skills to run our various cities, townships, provinces, etc.
Where are they looking for these folks? We have thousands of very bright, well trained people who can not find positions and, I suspect, would happily be willing to do these jobs at less than half what our current crop gets paid.
When our human resources director, Shannon Harvey-Renner, talks about 20-plus years of experience, I suspect it was we who paid for their expertise. Many came to the Township with little or no experience in the positions they now hold, and were well paid while learning.
Now these same bureaucrats insist everyone that comes on board has all this experience on application. Maybe this is the reason that cost increases at municipal levels have far surpassed other governing bodies in recent years?
Their view of the intelligence of tax payers is evident when Harvey-Renner, and others like her, have the audacity to compare running a small Township like Langley, with running a large international corporation. They obviously have no concept of the responsibilities inherent in that job.
Had any CEO anywhere presented to his/her board of directors the planned growth of a company the way we were presented with the Willoughby and Brookswood developments, he/she would certainly have been looking for another job.
What would make Harvey-Renner’s protestations viable is if the whole system of compensation was connected to regular efficiency/performance determinations, so we could rest assured that we are getting value for money.
These reviews must include the possible removal or retraining of those that do not perform. That is not going to happen anytime soon, because then our HR person may be looking for a new position.
The Oct. 31 Sun noted what Mr. Harper got paid for being the Prime Minister of Canada. I suspect that was a very daunting task indeed, for which he got paid a mere $335,000 per year.
What do you suppose he would be paid if he worked for our Township?
B. Froebel,
Langley
