Ramara council to be commended for acknowledging problems; now it’s time for action

By Dave Dawson, Orillia Packet & Times

It’s never easy to acknowledge failure and it can be especially difficult to do so when you operate in the public realm. But that is what Ramara Township did last year when its council sanctioned, supported and paid for an outside review of the municipal operation.

The results of that review were less than flattering. John Whitesell, of Whitesell and Company, presented a 23-page report to council last week that is an indictment of the way the municipality has functioned over the past several years.

“There was a consistent theme of workplace tension among employees and departments that has resulted in a level of inefficiency that borders on operational dysfunction,” Whitesell wrote in his report. “Several township staff have described the culture as ‘toxic’…”

Mayor Basil Clarke, first elected as a councillor in 2000, did not dispute the findings. He said efficiency, morale and functionality have gradually declined as development dwindled, and that put intense financial pressure on staff, sparked frustration and led to the creation of silos that became roadblocks to co-operation and teamwork.

After his exhaustive review of Ramara, Whitesell, who held public meetings, conducted 61 face-to-face interviews and 12 follow-up sessions, interviewed 10 people over the phone and communicated with 27 employees, made 16 recommendations aimed at cleansing the culture within the municipal office and improving service delivery to its residents.

Chief among those recommendations is a review of the organizational structure to be completed by April. That review is meant to serve as a blueprint to “enhance service delivery.” Whitesell noted “prior administrations nurtured a culture of favouritism” whereby “information (was used) as a means of control that promoted divisiveness” and said internal and external communication needs to be enhanced.

He is also recommending the township hire a full-time information technology (IT) professional to clean up the IT mess that exists; different departments use different platforms that do not work well together and, in some cases, prevent staff from accessing important financial information. Whitesell also noted Ramara is facing a staffing crunch — 12 of its 59 employees are 55 or older — and believes the township needs to hire a full-time human resources professional to head off a crisis.

Another key recommendation is creating an administrator of contracts and quality assurance. With 400 kilometres of roads and 2,200 resident complaints per year, there is a “definite need for contract management and oversight,” said Whitesell. Council recently approved adding this position.

Ramara is to be congratulated for addressing these issues. There seems to be an appetite for change at the council table and among municipal employees. It’s important to note, however, a similar review was conducted in 2003 and many of the 65 recommendations from that review were neglected.

A review is just a first step. Real leadership, however, will be required to stick-handle these recommendations, to balance the financial impact and to follow through on the critical changes that must be made to clean up a mess that has been allowed to fester and ferment into a toxic environment that is unhealthy and unproductive.