A major process to hire some 20 general managers was launched mid-last week by the government of New Brunswick.
The firm Jennifer Murray Consulting obtained from the Ministry of Local Government and Local Governance Reform the mandate to unearth talented candidates to fill these key positions in any municipal administration.
According to what Acadie Nouvelle has learned, the government hopes to see the entry into office of the new DGs next September, so that they can prepare the ground in the newly created entities which will be officially in place on January 1, 2023. .
The main communities affected by these hirings are those of Belle-Baie, Campbellton and Caraquet.
According to Pascal Reboul, director general of the Association francophone des municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick (AFMNB), the salary scale proposed by the government is a problem for some members of the organization.
Thus, the salary scale in the smaller entities is between $70,408 to $93,678, while it is $100,776 to $131,222 in the municipalities mentioned above.
“In some cases where municipalities have had difficulty recruiting CEOs, there are concerns that the salary scales offered will not always allow the positions to be filled. Also, there are DGs already in office who have a higher salary than what the government is offering,” said the leader of the AFMNB.
The Ministry of Local Government and Local Governance Reform, however, would have assured the new entities that no salary cut could be imposed on future holders of the post of director general.
Minister Daniel Allain also affirmed from the start of the local governance reform work that it should not lead to job cuts in the municipal apparatus.
The most eloquent example of places where hiring a CEO could be a problem is probably in Belle-Baie, in the Chaleur region.
The future municipality, which brings together the communities of Beresford, Nigadoo, Petit-Rocher and Pointe-Verte as well as several neighboring LSDs, currently has three general managers on its territory.
“There will ultimately be only one CEO, even if the three people in question will have a position in the new entity. It remains to be seen whether these people will accept the new job offered, it would be a shame for the municipalities to lose competent people, “said Pascal Reboul, contacted by Acadie Nouvelle while he was in Regina as part of the congress. of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
“There are already losses in human resources in several municipalities, the government must do more in terms of communication and reassure the municipal environment,” said the director general of the AFMNB.
A similar portrait is emerging in the various firefighting services. In Belle-Baie, for example, there are currently four brigade leaders spread over the vast territory between Pointe-Verte and Beresford.
Although a New Brunswick firm of human resources consultants manages the procedure for hiring the directors general of the municipalities, they have obtained assurances from the government that they will be involved in the process. decision-making.
“Local people must be able to have their say in hiring people who will work for their government,” said Pascal Reboul.
According to him, the function of director general is a more than critical position in a municipality, even if the latter is much less visible than the mayor and the other members of the municipal council.
“His role is essential in the proper functioning of human resources, finances and in the direction that the municipality is taking. He is the one who brings the municipality to another level.”
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