Report urges sweeping changes to municipal public works

DENISE RIDEOUT

A review of the City of Iqaluit’s public works department is calling for sweeping changes to the way it provides water, sewer and garbage services to Iqaluit households.

The review also urges the public works department to make some internal changes to boost its employees’ morale and create a better workplace.

The “Public Works Capacity Review,” which takes a look at the municipal services the department provides to Iqaluit residents, was released at the July 23 council meeting.

It says the best way to improve water, sewer and garbage services is for the public works department to contract out some of the work to local businesses.

It also recommends the public works department do what it can to make its employees happier in their jobs.

In fact, it was the workers’ obvious lack of morale that prompted the review of the public works department in the first place.

Following last summer’s three-month-long labour dispute, the city’s administrators noticed the morale of people working on the garbage, sewage and water trucks had dropped. They commissioned a consulting firm, Pommen Group, to look at ways to improve the employees’ pride in their work.

The city also asked Pommen to suggest ways for the public works department to improve its services to the public.

Contracting out municipal services

The public works’ fleet of trucks are out daily delivering water, picking up garbage and removing sewage from residences and buildings in Iqaluit.

But Pommen’s consultants suggest the city should get away from providing some of those services, such as picking up trash at commercial buildings.

Right now, trucks pick up garbage once a week from commercial sites.

But Pommen points out the city doesn’t have the equipment needed to efficiently handle commercial waste and should consider privatizing the service. “The advantage to the city is that it reduces the cost of providing the service and reduces its liability,” the Pommen report says.

The city would also be wise to get local contractors to work on one of the water and sewer routes, the consultants say. Currently, 23 water and sewer employees work daily to provide water and sewage service to 500 units in the city.

The Pommen consultants say that contracting out a number of services will likely save the city money in the long run.

Jim Grittner, director of public works for the city, says his department has batted around the idea of privatizing some municipal services. He is now checking what it would cost to have local contractors handle some water and sewage services.

“You’ve got to look at what’s the best for the citizens of Iqaluit, where the best services are going to be, and how cost-effective it is for the taxpayers,” Grittner said in an interview.

While the Pommen consultants and the public works department are open to the idea of privatization, it’s not something that’s going to happen very quickly. That’s because the city would have to iron out parts of the employees’ collective agreement before those jobs could go out to the private sector.

And the final say on whether Iqaluit moves toward privatizing municipal services lies with city council.

Boosting workers’ morale

On top of wanting to make its services better, the city’s public works department is eager to make its own working environment better.

Throughout interviews with public works staff, the Pommen consultants learned that many employees don’t feel good about their jobs, believe that senior staff aren’t even interested if they’re happy, and that there isn’t enough focus on employee training.

“There was an apparent lack of pride in the work being performed, whether that was working on the equipment in the garage, delivering water, or collecting solid waste on the trucks,” the report says.

The low morale comes as no surprise to Grittner. “It always has been there. It’s a difficult department.”

“Part of the reason this report was commissioned was to find out what the city could do to make it a much better working environment,” he said.

And there were plenty of suggestions, from giving employees more of a say in how things run, to building a lunch room and locker area for them at the garage.

“We will be building an area for the staff to call their own,” Grittner said. One of the biggest complaints from the staff was the lack of training, and thus the inability to work their way up the ladder.

Grittner has already begun to change that. Two employees have been in literacy training, one for six years, the other for three.

There’s also a greater focus on training the drivers and helpers to move into lead hand and foreman positions.

“Once you start training them in supervisory roles then the rest can see that there’s advancement within the department,” Grittner said.

Nuyalea Kipanik, a sewage truck driver, has taken Grittner up on that offer. He completed a 10-day middle management course in Arviat this March, allowing him to take on a lead-hand position.

Other recommendations in the Pommen report will have to go to city council before they are implemented, Grittner said.