Sarnia hires deputy clerk after three-year job vacancy at city hall
In the past three years, Sarnia's clerk says she has been able to get done what's needed at city hall. Denny Giles, a former deputy clerk with Plympton-Wyoming, has been appointed as the city's first acting deputy clerk since October 10, following the resignation of former clerk and city solicitor, Sutheat Tim. Giles' position was left vacant in 2020 as a cost-saving measure amid COVID-19, but she took on acting duties in October 2020. She noted that the position has been largely taken over by the city since then, particularly during the 2022 election. She also mentioned that more proactive policy reviews can be done with the deputy clerk position being restored. The hiring of a deputy clerk until later in 2023 was also approved in council budget deliberations in January.
Publicado : Hace 2 años por Tyler Kula en Politics
To that end, Denny Giles, she said, formerly deputy clerk with Plympton-Wyoming, was hired Oct. 10 as the city’s first deputy clerk since Burkhart, before she took on acting clerk duties in October 2020, in the wake of former clerk and city solicitor, Sutheat Tim, resigning. “Since then, and throughout the duration of the pandemic, we have absorbed (deputy clerk) responsibilities in the existing staff complement,” Burkhart said. That’s meant challenges, she said, particularly during the 2022 election. “Having a full-time deputy clerk would have certainly assisted with my workload during that period of time,” she said.
“I can’t count the number of hours I actually put in to administering the municipal election.” Projects like a review of the city’s advisory committee framework to ensure compliance with the Municipal Act, and to look at standardizing terms of reference and meeting protocols, as well as evaluating committees’ relevance also have been on hold in the interim, she said. Delays implementing an electronic records management system is another example, she said. But with the added help “we are now advancing requests for the 2024 budget, through reserves, to take that back up and refocus our priorities,” she said. More proactive policy reviews also can be done with the deputy clerk position restored, Burkhart said.
The position was left vacant in 2020 as a cost-saving measure amid COVID-19 “while we worked to offset and better ascertain the financial impacts of the pandemic,” city spokesperson Steve Henschel said in an email. “At the same time the vacancy period provided us opportunity to review the role’s responsibilities and future improvements to service delivery via the office of the city clerk.” Delaying plans to hire a deputy clerk until later in 2023 was also a cost-saving measure approved in council budget deliberations in January. Initially the hire would have been earlier in the year. A job posting for the position lists the salary at $97,000 to $123,000 a year. A bylaw making the appointment official was to be approved at the Oct. 16 council meeting, but that meeting was cut short. Under the Municipal Act, Burkhart said she can still delegate clerk powers and duties in the interim, in writing, as needed until the bylaw is adopted. The delay “doesn’t impact (Giles’) ability to do the work he needs to do right now to support the clerk’s office,” she said.