By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A Chatham councillor’s bid to extend council’s oversight in non-union municipal hires has fallen flat.
A motion at the Dec. 16 council meeting from Chatham Coun. Michael Bondy called for the council’s approval in all new hires and replacement hires. However, the motion failed in a 13-3 vote.
Bondy’s initial motion called for non-union hires over $50,000 per annum to be approved by council, but that was upped to a $100,000 threshold following a friendly amendment by West Kent Coun. Lauren Anderson.
Bondy said he brought the motion forward in the interest of transparency, noting he hears a lot about hefty municipal salaries from constituents.
Municipal employee positions and salaries are two things he gets “grilled on all the time,” Bondy told council, adding councils of the past were involved in hiring department supervisors. However, council decided to delegate its authority to the chief administrative officer, which is the only position council hires.
“We didn’t have the time for it and we didn’t have the expertise (for hiring), but that has me kind of curious,” he said. “We have the expertise to hire the guy that hires them. But we don’t have the expertise to hire who he hires.”
Bondy said he didn’t expect the motion to be too popular with administration, and he admitted it wasn’t, but noted it wasn’t a lot of additional work for staff and that providing council with a list was all that was required.
“I think this is just a simple way of council getting a better grip on the operation,” he said, adding that council is like the municipality’s board of directors.
Originally Bondy proposed that council approve a new hire prior to the municipality making an offer to the prospective employee, but this was shot down due to time constraints. Council meeting agendas must be compiled at least two weeks in advance and sometimes the time between meetings is much longer.
In response to questions from South Kent’s Trevor Thompson, general manager of corporate services Cathy Hoffman said adding another layer to the hiring process was cumbersome and time-consuming, and that valuable prospects will be lost due to delays.
When questioned by West Kent Coun. Melissa Harrigan, chief financial officer Gord Quinton confirmed that every new employee is either hired through the budget process or through a specific report to council.
CAO Michael Duben echoed Quinton, noting new hires are approved through the budget process and can be found within the budget book.
In 2024 a municipal report indicated there were 319 employees earning over $100,000 per year, including police. There were 122 non-union employees earning $100,000 or more.
