With the workload in the township’s building department expected to increase, Wellington North council is giving CAO Mike Givens the go ahead to find a new department employee to assist chief building official (CBO) Darren Jones.
The move comes after building department employee Patty Wright left to become the new CBO in Mapleton.
Givens and Jones presented council at its May 26 meeting with a job description for the new position, which will also include bylaw enforcement.
Givens noted the position would pay a competitive wage, but added “finding a qualified candidate will be challenging.”
Jones told council, “We’re fairly busy and I’m anxious to move forward with the process.” He anticipates building activity will increase this month and moving ahead.
Jones presented council with a report on building activity from the beginning of the year that shows the township issued building permits up until the end of April for $3,612,080 with fees of $43,978 for the period (compared to $4,899,340 and $53,310 respectively over the same period last year).
“The May report will be quite a bit larger than the April one,” Jones predicted.
Councillor Mark Goetz raised concerns about the township being able to hang onto staff members who are trained for various positions and then move on.
Givens said he couldn’t provide council with any assurances a newly-hired employee would stay.
“I’m not going to paint a picture that isn’t within reality,” Givens said. “You get them to a level (of training) and they find an opportunity elsewhere.”
The township will proceed with posting the job.
