Staff urge council to respect chain of command

Union president says staff came to chambers over concerns that comments from council are being directed at employees instead of the CAO

A strong turnout of municipal staff at the March 10 Crowsnest Pass council meeting spilled into public input, where one employee speaking on behalf of workers told council there is growing concern over how staff are being discussed by elected officials.

Katherine Mertz said several municipal employees in attendance had come to show their support for chief administrative officer Patrick Thomas.

Tyler Hoffman, who identified himself as lead hand in public works and president of CUPE Local 812, said staff from across the municipality also attended because comments from council have increasingly been perceived as being directed at employees rather than the CAO, raising concerns about council overreach.

“As you can see, we do have a lot of staff here tonight,” Hoffman said.

He said workers had come to the realization that council’s employee is the chief administrative officer, not front-line staff.

“I guess maybe council’s overstepping their boundaries a bit,” he said.

Hoffman said concerns have been brought to him by union members and management alike. He defended the work being done by staff and said crews have been dealing with growing demands, frequent understaffing and the pressures that come with ongoing construction and development in the community.

“I think our whole team, and we are one team, management and union, I think we are doing a very good job in the community,” he said.

Hoffman asked councillors who have concerns about staff work to take those concerns through the CAO and allow them to flow down the chain of command rather than being directed at workers in public.

Mayor Pat Rypien thanked him for the comments.

The issue of municipal staff treatment had already surfaced earlier in the meeting when Rypien added “the safety of municipal workers” to the agenda under council reports.

Although council did not have a full discussion on that item during the portion of the transcript provided, the public input later in the meeting made clear that at least some employees are feeling unsettled by the tenor of recent public debate.

The staff comments came after several residents also used public input to raise concerns on other municipal issues including logging, road conditions and past enforcement responses.

Chris Mullins, a former municipal employee, said he had concerns about declining service levels despite higher taxes and argued workers should speak up when they see problems.

Vern Harrison raised concerns tied to the Bellevue MGM lands judicial review and urged council not to squander what he called an “off ramp” now that, in his view, the sale terms had expired. 

Henry Goodman raised multiple complaints tied to logging activity in East Hillcrest, including mud, debris and what he described as poor enforcement follow through. He said residents have repeatedly raised issues about road mess, stop sign enforcement and environmental concerns but have not seen strong enough action.

The exchange highlighted a growing tension at council meetings, where public criticism of municipal services is colliding more often with staff morale and workplace boundaries.