City job applications should ask if employees are prepared to be political targets

Perhaps there should be a new question asked in the job application process of all potential City of Ottawa employees.

It would read something like: "Are you prepared to wear a target on the back of all of your clothing?"

They might as well make it official and wear a bull's eye all day, since politicians continue taking potshots at them. Indeed, the constant targeting of municipal employees is going to have a serious impact – and probably has already – on both the calibre of future employees and the morale of current employees.

When every employee, aside from police and fire departments, is deemed to be expendable, what does it say about the jobs they are performing? What kind of impact do you think it has on the overall morale of the city hall workforce? How would you feel if every time there was media coverage of the budget process that your job and livelihood was threatened?

I am not suggesting that staff cuts are not the way to go. What I'm suggesting is that all discussions on staff cuts should be done out of the media spotlight. When under the glare of camera lights, microphones and reporters' notebooks, those announcements do not provide any benefits to anyone – save the moment in the sun for the politician – and in fact, are harmful to the effective operation of the city.

How is it harmful? Let's start with the staffers who get fed up with the negative talk and decide to seek employment elsewhere. It's a proven fact that the people who find other jobs are the people who are most capable, and just the people you don't want to lose.

Now let's talk about how you find replacements for the capable people you're losing – the staff leaders of the future. How many potential leaders of the future would want to work in an environment where you are constantly in fear of losing your job through the actions of politicians? Do you think they'll apply to the City of Ottawa, or do you think they'll look for work in the private sector? One doesn't have to be a human resources expert to know the answer to that question.

And what about the staff that stay and hope and fear for their jobs? How much effort would you be putting into your hours at the office when you were under the axe all the time? How much enthusiasm would you have for your job when politicians were talking about how overstaffed the city was? The answer to both those questions is not very much.

There is almost a finger of guilt pointing at these employees of the City of Ottawa. There is an implication that it is their fault if the city has too many employees; that they are the reasons that the city has not shed enough workers since amalgamation; that they are the reasons why are our property tax bills keep climbing.

Give me, and them, a break.

We've all heard the anecdotes about overemployment in certain areas and I'm sure there is some of that. But don't judge the whole basket by a few bad apples – there are plenty of them in the private sector too. In the main, these are good people who enjoy their jobs and are making beneficial contributions to the betterment of the city. They don't sit around all day wondering how to keep busy – they ensure that there is professionalism in the day-to-day running of the city, and some creativity and vision in Ottawa's future.

It's time that their political masters recognized they're not just political pawns, to be used as 'hooks' to gain media attention. If we want to have any hope of moving this city into a position of leadership in the next quarter century, it's not enough to have the right people leading council.

We're going to need bright, energetic and thoughtful bureaucrats to provide those politicians with support, and the city with effective implementation. n

Jeff Polowin is senior vice-president with Hill and Knowlton Canada where he heads up its Ottawa municipal public affairs practice. In addition, he is the municipal affairs analyst for CTV Ottawa. He served as director of communications for mayor Jim Durrell.