Councillors have NO authority to hire, fire, supervise, discipline or evaluate any staff of a municipality other than their Administrator. (revised article) Full Stop. I do not know why we are tiptoeing around this when the legislation is abundantly clear. Recently during a webinar about legislated responsibilities for municipal employers, we ran into it again. Councillors reported to be micromanaging their CAO/Administrator by interfering with hiring, supervision, evaluation

Councillors have NO authority to hire, fire, supervise, discipline or evaluate any staff of a municipality other than their Administrator. Full Stop. I do not know why we are tiptoeing around this when the legislation is abundantly clear. Recently, during a webinar about legislated responsibilities for municipal employers, we ran into it again. Councillors reported to be micromanaging their CAO/Administrator by interfering with hiring, supervision, evaluation and discipline o

by Lorri Matthewson Administrator overreach happens when a CAO or municipal staff begin exercising powers that legally and democratically belong to Council. It’s not always intentional — but it almost always causes governance problems and makes Council look ineffective to the people who elected them. One of the biggest contributors to overreach is Council not staying in its lane. When Councillors spend their time chasing grader operators or micromanaging day‑to‑day operations

By Lorri Matthewson It feels productive to plan. It feels visionary. It feels like progress. But planning doesn’t accomplish anything if you’re not prepared to do. We’re becoming very selective about who we take on for strategic planning. There are plenty of consultants out there who will help you “check the box,” produce a glossy document, and walk away — knowing full well nothing will change. We are not that company. The hardest part of strategic planning begins after the c