Phased Reorganization at the City of Nanaimo Now Complete

NEWS RELEASE - Distributed January 23, 2018 4:00 PM

The City of Nanaimo is releasing information related to management staff departures and severance agreements paid to date in response to public interest surrounding the phased reorganization. Underway for the past two years and now complete, the phased reorganization was driven by the recommendations of the Core Services Review report, and brought about in consultation with the City’s senior managers.

Three graphs have been provided on the City’s website and show management turnover, the number of severance agreements negotiated each year, and the dollar cost of severance agreements paid to date for the past decade. The statistics relate to management positions only; there have been no layoffs or terminations of unionized employees as a result of the phased reorganization.

In releasing the statistical information, the City’s Director of Human Resources, John Van Horne, commented that “the graphs provide a snapshot of the last ten to twelve years at the City. They provide some historical context; what may feel out-of-the-ordinary to some really isn’t dramatically different than the City has seen in the past.”

The City has achieved a savings of approximately $745,000 per year, according to information provided by the City’s Finance department, as a result of the phased reorganization. The savings relate to management positions that were vacated and not subsequently filled. “Organizational changes have allowed for reallocation of resources, in some instances, for effective delivery of services and the net savings have resulted in better service delivery at a lower cost,” noted the Chief Financial Officer, Victor Mema.

“I was brought in to make some changes, and in order to do so and start seeing results in a timely manner, it meant that the City needed to part ways with some individuals and needed to pay severance to do so,” said Chief Administrative Officer Tracy Samra. “The phased reorganization also allowed for the vacancies created by regular turnover – resignations and retirements – to occur that allowed some of the organizational changes to be made without resorting to severance situations.”

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