Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) directors have unanimously agreed to increase staffing numbers by a total amount that’s higher than the last 10 years combined.
During Round 2 budget deliberations, held Feb. 10 and 11, directors approved 15 full-time equivalents, bringing the total at the regional district to 213.
Between 2009 and 2019, when the SCRD’s total budget increased by 24 per cent to $56.4 million, the number of full-time equivalents grew to 198 from 190.
In terms of new hires for 2020, the increases would see the addition of 10 new employees.
Of those new hires, four full-time positions have been added to support the board’s new strategic plan, including $121,000 budgeted for a new position in a “communications and engagement” role. Other positions related to the strategic plan would support water projects, and planning for the landfill closure.
A “corporate and regional sustainability” role has been added for $144,000, as well as a new general manager for community services, at $100,000 for a portion of 2020, and $200,000 in 2021.
The planning department will see the addition of a planning technician to support bylaw changes and other initiatives, and a role has been created for the expanding water metering program.
The remaining five full-time equivalents represent a combination of backfilling, expanding existing positions and special projects.
For example, a water conservation assistant position has been extended from a summer position to a full-time position.
Approximately $1.1 million has been budgeted for 2020, and most positions are expected to be paid for through taxation. Since many of the hires won’t occur until later this year, the full impact on the budget won’t be felt until 2021.
When introducing the budget at Round 2, chief administrative officer Dean McKinley acknowledged the “significant staffing requests,” and said it could take time for those roles to improve productivity.
“While those are going to help tremendously in moving the strategic plan objectives forward, they don’t have an immediate dividend in terms of increased capacity. In fact, they come in the short term with a capacity deficit for the staff that are already here,” he said.
The budget is expected to go before the board for adoption Feb. 27.
