The city of Red Deer has 1469 full time equivalent (FTE) employees earning 142.8 million dollars, so 1 FTE employee on average earns $97,209 each year. The city wants to hire 6 more FTE employees this year, costing $583,250 more in 2017.
The city’s population shrank by 1%, revenue is down but city wants to hire more staff. The city plans to cut back on projects, has fewer residents, yet feels the need to hire more staff. But the Carbon Tax will cost the city $300,000, and that is heard more often than the staff increases. That is pure PR.
The city has 1469 (FTE) employees, and any business of that size facing the same restraints and decreases would be laying off, re-assigning and cutting back. Why is that?
Personnel supposedly makes up only 40% of the operating budget, but if you dig deeper into costs it is even higher. If you had fewer employees, you would lease less space, have fewer phones, less maintenance, less cleaning, fewer computers, less stationary etc. and the opposite is true, more employees, more space, more phones, computers, stationary etc.
When will council, decide to take the walk of fiscal responsibility that they are always talking about. Perhaps it is time for an operational audit, at least consider zero-based budgets.
The city budgets are growing faster than either the cost of living or past population growth and faster than population growth and cost of living combined in any meaningful algorithm. Given that the population shrank by 1% and the cost of living increase came in at just above 1%, you would think the budget would not increase.
Population decline, and revenue decline means a lower debt ceiling and since the debt did increase for 2017, the city has fewer levers, but one of them could be a moratorium on hiring. Operations are fluid and that may not be the best option, but the city needs to look like it is trying.
Red Deer residents would really like to see some efficiencies incorporated and not just more of the same old blame game.
We know because you told us the province will expect $300,000 in carbon tax, but did you not say the province will be spending a 100 plus million on projects like the QE2 interchange, the airport, the college, nursing homes etc.
The provincial government is stepping up to the plate to help Red Deer, will you?