In the run-up to the 2022 election Ken Berry campaigned on the then CAO’s absence from the office and his close relationship with the then mayor. The current CAO is in the office part-time at best but we have heard no complaint from Berry.
Residents complain of long delays in responses from the office, sometimes waiting months. This was again brought to light this week when an architect came to council for help in obtaining a long awaited building permit.
It is common knowledge a staff member drives the CAO to the mid-afternoon ferry on days he comes to work. In a September 2023 Village Update (pg. 2 here) he told the community he looked forward to relocating from Vancouver Island to the North Shore but this has not happened.
In a council meeting on September 2 (at 2:44:48) Cllr. Mclaughlin proposed staff return to work full-time. He referenced the growing trend across Canada and said having staff in the office would avoid delays caused by trying to contact them through text, calls and emails, would make for better training/mentoring and would present a better image.
In response the CAO claimed not being in the office had “never been an issue, had never been abused”. Residents may beg to differ as service delivery problems persist. There has also been criticism from some councillors that items on the unfinished business log have been unattended to, in some cases for over a year.
The CAO also made the case he “gets up at 4 o’clock in the morning to serve this community” and commutes “6 hours a day” but his contract* includes a $7,000 relocation allowance indicating he was expected to relocate.
There was no mention during the meeting of the CAO’s contractual obligation to be in the office Mondays to Fridays as of September 2024.
Cllr.Mclaughlin eventually withdrew the motion and the issue was instead referred to the CAO’s performance review.
SIDE NOTE: This week the City of Vancouver ordered roughly 1,400 exempt/management staff to return to the office five days a week, ending semi-remote work introduced during the pandemic. WATCH HERE
* The contract was obtained through a Freedom of Information Request.
