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

In small population communities, the margin for error is small because the impact of every decision can be huge. Councils who understand that are willing to learn, ask questions, and build the skills the job demands. Training is simply part of doing the work well. By Lorri Matthewson Founder: Matthewson & Co www.smallplacesrock.com Every election cycle brings new people to the Council table—and with them, new energy, new ideas, and an enormous responsibility. Most of the pe