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

Misuse of the “As Otherwise Provided for by Council” Idea When It Comes To Municipal Council and Staff By Lorri Matthewson Across the prairie provinces Councils involve themselves in hiring and firing, staff evaluations, raise decisions, disciplinary actions, staff direction, and operational decisions. They do this based on the assumption that they can, because they always have, or they feel entitled to, by virtue of their election. Here is the thing though. Council has 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