No Safety Net: How Weak Rules and Poor Training Leave Municipal Administrators in a Tough Spot.

We just got home from the UMAAS conference, and something troubled me on the drive and late into the night. It still bothers me today, and so I write.

I was delighted to see many of the administrators we work with on everything from strategic planning to impromptu phone calls. But I heard a common theme at this conference, that niggles at me.

Being a municipal administrator is one of the most challenging jobs around. Every day, they are in front of the population, expecting to balance community needs, tight budgets, and constant pressure from their Council, who do not understand the difference between their election promises and the legislation. Add in the select few residents who think that paying taxes gives them the right to act like an ass in the municipal office, and you have a lot of pressure on one pair of shoulders.

The legislation and the rules that are supposed to protect the administrators are so weak and vague that they are useless to those who ran for Council based on their egos. When councillors ignore these rules, they make the administrator's job hard. The training administrators get does not equip them to deal with the abuse and harassment that is often viewed as an occupational hazard.

A System That Doesn't Help

A Council can go from a functioning Council to a disaster with one election. All it takes is one loud-mouthed shnook (if you heard that in Foghorn Leghorn's voice, you are my people), and the system goes into chaos. I know of some councils that spend so much time with legal issues that one wonders if they get any actual work done. It costs money, the village knows where its idiot is, and people lose faith in the local government. And when the administrator goes…." hey, waitaminnit…you can't do that!" the Council threatens their jobs, or they are fired.

They reach out for help. They call everyone they can think of, even me. The administrators are told that councils are autonomous and encouraged to get a lawyer at their own expense and to duke it out in the courts. Most often, administrators don't. Because in our small population communities, everyone knows your business, some councillors have no class and blurt only their side of the story on Coffee Row, and lots of those administrators need their jobs. There is nowhere to go because they get the same BS answer everywhere. There is legislation, but little you can do with a Council that won't follow it.

Autonomous Should Not Mean Above the Law

Where did we get the idea that having rules means you cannot be autonomous within your scope? I am autonomous, but I still get a ticket if I speed. (ask me how I know). Yet nobody who writes the legislation is interested in adding enforcement, leaving it up to Councils to police themselves. They all have a Code of Conduct, Ethics policy, and bylaws. They don't care to enforce it. If they don't police themselves, the administrator bears the brunt. (To those councils who follow the rules, your administrator loves you, and I do too.)

Having a standard that doesn't get pitched around every time there is an election means administrators are free to do their jobs.

Oh, But if We Make the Councillors Accountable, They Won't Run Again

Say that again, slowly. Now show me why that is a problem. So what if they don't? Is our only alternative crap leadership over no leadership? How do we know that will happen? A 2022 study from MIT's Sloan School of Management demonstrated that people leave their jobs due to toxic workplace culture. Isn't it possible that if Councils resumed their once prestigious roles, people who care about the community might be interested in running?

Will those people run if we make training mandatory? I'm not saying that all Councillors need it; many are capable, love their community, and do a better job than I ever could. But making training mandatory would weed out the ones whose sole purpose for running for election was to fire the foreman. And who needs him? (or her?).

Better training doesn't hurt anyone. I'll go one step further. Being a Councillor should be a paid position requiring qualifications like those found everywhere in government, except "municipal." At the very least, councillors should understand that their authority comes from the province, not the people who elected them. They can serve those who elected them better if they know and follow the legislation.

Moving Forward

Our communities need better laws that protect administrators and hold councillors accountable. Enforceable laws that don't depend on the person being abused to come up with the funds for the lawyer are needed.

If local governments adopted strong, clear policies and offered the appropriate training, municipal administrators might be easier to find and certainly easier to keep.

Final Thoughts

I would love to hear from anyone with ideas about how we can support the administrators in pushing for change or how we can change this system. Our economic well-being is at stake when small populations are at risk. Their best chance at survival is not to deal with things that could easily be prevented if we just figured it out.

The Council is NOT the Town--It’s just the people who showed up to take care of it.

“The Town should have known, the Town should have taken care of it….isn’t that the Town’s job?? Why doesn’t the Town do this…or the Town do that?” 

I hear something like that almost every day. Mostly the question is rhetorical. They don’t want an answer, what they are really saying is “the Town messed up,” “our Council sucks” and other equally derogatory things. I noticed too, that much of what the regular, non-Council affiliated folk think and say, is often based on not having any idea about how Councils work. It’s like this:  

1. The Council sets policies—they don’t run day to day operations. Council’s job is creating policy and strategic direction, and it is the Administration (CAO) and staff who implement those plans within the parameters of that policy. Council has only one employee under the legislation and that is the CAO.  

2. Municipal staff are professionals, not politicians. They are hired for their expertise, and qualifications, and work within the established policies set by the Council.  

3. The Town’s Identity comes from its people, businesses and organizations. A municipality is more than its government—the municipality is defined by its residents, businesses and community groups. Altogether, you ARE the town.  

4. The Town’s authority comes from the province. Local governments are not the same as a volunteer committee. They are government. As such, they are expected to exercise their authority within the legislation, specifically through policy, bylaw and resolution.  

5. Funding comes from limited resources. Municipalities rely on property taxes, grants and fees, and there is never enough money to do all the things municipalities would like to do. Asset management plans are legislated, and the community and the government expect municipal government to prioritize those projects in a way that results in a sustainable financial future.  

6. Not everything is up to the municipal government, the Town office, or the Council. Healthcare, highways and education fall under provincial or federal jurisdiction, not the municipality.  

7. Municipalities work alongside community partners, nonprofits, volunteers and businesses. It is their responsibility to foster growth rather than directly manage all of it. When you say “the Town should…” - who exactly are you referring to? And why do you think they should know? Why do you think the rest of us should want to pay for your thing with our tax dollars?  

8. Your opinion matters. Residents of a community influence decisions by participating in consultations, town halls, and committee work, not just by voting.  Spreading gossip about your elected officials is just rude, and you should stop. Your opinion matters. Your temper tantrum doesn’t.  

9. Decision making is a balancing act. The Council must weigh the financial constraints, the current and future needs of every citizen that lives in your municipality, and regulatory requirements. They cannot respond to only public pressure.  

10. Municipal government must follow provincial and federal laws. They operate within legal frameworks that dictate how they can govern, budget and plan.  

    
    

Municipal Councils are made up of ordinary people who care about their community enough to run for election. Their authority comes from provincial legislation, not personal power, and their job is to set policy—not to handle every complaint or request directly. 

Despite their efforts, Council members often become the target of frustration from residents who misunderstand how local government works. Many assume the Council controls everything, when municipal operations are bound by laws, budgets, and shared responsibilities with provincial and federal governments. 

The truth is that the community isn’t just the Council—it’s the people, businesses, and organizations that shape it every day. A thriving community depends on engagement, collaboration, and informed discussion—not just blaming the people who stepped up to do the work. 

When Volunteering Hurts Your Heart

Can we talk about the hard things?  

Our work takes us to many communities, and we engage with many volunteer groups both formally and informally.  Specifically, we work with communities who want to clarify the roles and responsibilities between themselves and the volunteer groups that raise money for the municipal owned facilities, like rinks, pools, and halls. We also have occasion to hear from those volunteer groups who run minor ball, hockey, soccer, dance and so many others. Over the years, that is lot of volunteers.  

I see a trend emerging though, and it is not pretty. Some volunteer boards are forming a hierarchy with a lead core group and several minions, who they treat like they are there to just serve the mission laid out by the core. The core is obnoxious, rude and insistent. They attack municipal staff, they attack volunteers, and they are mean to anyone who doesn’t agree with them. They are entitled. Demanding. They think they speak for everyone. They are vindictive, isolating and use social media to control the rest.  

What they don’t seem to realize is this: things get done to spite them, not because of them. Their fellow volunteers apologize for them, are embarrassed by them, and eventually quit because of them. They do more damage than they are worth to the project in which they involve themselves. And they are tolerated.   

When did we become so afraid to stand up to the bullies? When did we become okay with taking lip off an angry person under the guise of passionate volunteer? That kind of abuse does not fly, cannot fly in a small population community. Here, you cannot just take your son or daughter and stomp off to the next team. Here, allowing bullies to run the show causes real harm to that son or daughter.  

Most volunteer groups are not like that. Most volunteers within a group are not like that.  To those of you who have donated time and money and patience to our beautiful communities, THANK YOU. We would not, could not, have the kinds of communities we do, with the tax bases we have, without you. You are the reason pools get built, rinks get maintained, and our quality of life is superior to anywhere. The volunteers who give their time and money are the bomb!  

But you who use your position to abuse others? Find another hobby.  Those of you whose children benefit from those tireless volunteers, show a little respect. You do not have to be mean to be heard. You can be polite and still make a point.