People don’t always like change; that’s a fact. It can be an especially contentious issue in a workplace, when people may have a preconceived idea of how things are run and how things should be run.
This resistance to change is apparently behind the decision to gamble on offering a three-month severance package to all full-time and permanent county employees. This offer amounts to a pretty questionable use of county resources.
The changes being spoken of, driven by council and CAO Peter Kelly, apparently have to do with an increased focus on customer service and some unspecified restructuring that may take place within the municipality.
Implementing change is their prerogative, without a doubt. But offering a severance package to all employees to try to weed out those who might not want to be part of the change seems like a heavy-handed move, and one which may do more harm than good. The impact of this decision won’t be clear on Oct. 15, when employees must decide whether to stay or go.
There are several troubling things about this decision. This is a gamble with taxpayer money. Furthermore, Kelly isn’t saying how much the gamble could cost and Reeve Bud Massey has said he doesn’t even know.
It’s not likely that all employees, or even most, will take the money and run — but it’s by no means out of the question entirely. A gamble on what’s perceived to be a sure thing is a gamble nonetheless, and hardly constitutes a responsible use of taxpayer money.
Besides, how would the county even operate if it lost a significant portion of its workforce on the same day? These are pretty high stakes we’re talking about here.
Another problem with this severance offer is it can be interpreted as saying, “Shape up or ship out.” Many county employees have certainly taken this to be a kind of ultimatum, which can’t be good for morale.
What’s perhaps worse, though, is the decision was made behind closed doors without a formal motion of council. Regardless of whether the MGA would require a motion authorizing the potential expenditure, this hasn’t been a great example of the openness and accountability we expect from our elected officials.
