What was once old may soon be new again.
At a special meeting Wednesday afternoon, Springwater Township council will consider a report from chief administrative officer Jeff Schmidt that would authorize him to implement a new corporate organizational structure for the township, effective Jan. 1, 2024, and to start the hiring process for a new director of public works and a new director of recreation, parks and facilities.
If approved, the township’s organizational chart would include directors and eliminate general managers — reversing a decision made a few years ago that eliminated directors and added general managers.
In September 2019, the township’s director of recreation, parks and facilities retired. The position was filled, but a resignation in early 2020 left it empty again. Around the same time in 2020, it was announced the township’s director of public works was retiring.
Faced with two senior-level vacancies, staff requested council consider moving forward with merging the two vacant positions to create the general manager of infrastructure and operational services position.
In October 2021, during a special council meeting, township staff recommended a new corporate organization that would eliminate the director level from the township’s hierarchy.
Instead of having seven directors, the new organization would feature four general managers, each of whom would be empowered to make executive-level decisions for their areas of expertise.
The four general manager roles would be corporate services/chief financial officer, infrastructure and operational services, building and planning services, and fire and emergency services/fire chief.
“The idea of moving to a general manager structure was to create a work environment where departmental managers were able to make more operational decisions and be held accountable for their actions,” Schmidt wrote in his report.
The goal of the new structure was to develop a culture where senior management would become less operational and more strategic. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, according to Schmidt.
“The township over the past two years has not seen these perceived benefits, communication has suffered amongst some departments and senior managers have not been able to become more strategic as they continue to be inundated with operational matters,” he wrote.
In an effort to ensure the township is on the right page moving forward, Schmidt, following consultation with the senior management team, is advising the township to return to the director-level structure, where “more cohesion and collaboration will be encouraged and fostered.”
If council supports Schmidt’s proposal, the township will have six directors — director of finance/treasurer, director of corporate services/clerk, director of public works, director of recreation, parks and facilities, director of planning and development, and director of fire and emergency services/fire chief.
Currently, the salary and benefits for the general manager of infrastructure and operational services is $200,630 per year. The salary and benefits for the two directors — public works and recreation — to replace this role are estimated to be $309,538, an increase of $108,908 annually.
