Great news, you guys! Based on some of the comments in this anonymous survey of municipal administrators, I think I might be qualified to work for the city! Well, at least if banging on about most of this same stuff for almost a decade counts towards the standard.
The survey, conducted by government relations firm StrategyCorp, compiled anonymous reflections from a sample of 32 CAOs, allowing them to freely discuss the behind-the-scenes relationship with the provincial government.
Top municipal civil servants described a government that’s filled with ambition but falls short on implementation, rushes through the consultation process, and is often “thin-skinned and unforgiving” when faced with criticism.
“We have to tread very carefully in our response to anything that the province is doing,” one CAO said. “Our mayor is cognizant of that.”
Another city administration put it more bluntly: “the province doesn’t accept dissent, and you are punished for it.”Some CAOs interviewed for the report said the province “doesn’t understand the municipal sector,” leading to “far too many unintended consequences.”
“I think [the provincial government] is an absolute disaster,” one CAO said. “It’s knee-jerk reactions with no analysis, no policy, no business case.”
Another CAO labelled the Progressive Conservatives as a “spaghetti government.”
“You just throw a bunch of stuff at the wall and see what sticks. If it sticks, then you draft regulations. If it doesn’t stick, you don’t.”Ultimately, some said, decisions are made without local guidance.
“Changes appear to be made by a very small group of people without real consultation or analysis on what the impact will be,” one CAO said.
“We see that when they must be rolled back.”“I get nervous whenever Doug Ford steps up to a podium because I have three months’ work ahead of me whenever he opens his mouth,” One CAO said.
“There have been 8 years of constant change.”