The City of Prince Albert’s proposed residency policy will return to the council table Tuesday.
The policy was last discussed at a council meeting in April when it was sent back to executive committee for further clarification.
The policy would make it mandatory for all out-of-scope employees to live within city limits or be terminated from their position. Employees hired prior to the policy’s creation, unionized employees governed by collective bargaining agreements and police, who are governed by the Board of Police Commissioners, would be exempt from the policy. Employees hired for a casual, term or temporary position are also exempt.
The stated purpose of the policy is to foster loyalty and create a stronger understanding of the experience and challenges facing residents, which policymakers believe will improve service quality.
If the policy is passed, all out-of-scope employees hired for permanent positions after the policy becomes effective will be required to have their primary home within the city’s boundaries within six months of the day they are hired. If they don’t comply, they will be fired with cause.
Anyone who is currently working for the city but living outside its boundaries, and is hired into the following jobs must also move into the city. People currently in the positions are exempt. The positions affected include:
City manager
City solicitor
City clerk
Director of finance
Director of Corporate Services
Director of Public Works
Director of Community Services
Director of Economic Planning and Development
Fire Chief
Deputy Fire Chief
Battalion Fire Chiefs.
The proposed policy allows employees and hiring managers to request short-term or permanent exemptions at the discretion of the city manager or city council.
City administration has also drafted a moving expenses policy to “address the challenges of attracting qualified external applicants” to the city.
Unionized employees who relocate will be reimbursed for up to $1,000 for moving expenses with appropriate receipts, while unionized employees hired into positions that have specialized educational requirements and qualifications not readily available locally shall be reimbursed up to $5,000 for relocation expenses with receipts. Jobs cited as possibly qualifying for the higher reimbursement include building inspectors, engineering technicians, plant relief operators and planners. Those reimbursements are already in place for non-unionized employees.
The city said the new moving expenses policy will cost an estimated $41,000 to $57,000 annually.
Mayor Dionne has been a supporter of the residency policy.
In April, he said there should be no concerns about making employees move to P.A., since they’re already paid well to work here.
“The people we are talking about are in the top 10 per cent of income earners in the province of Saskatchewan,” Dionne said during the April council meeting. “I think that’s an important thing to discuss because that tells you how well we pay our employees.”
Couns. Tony Head and Terra Lennox -Zepp have both said they likely wouldn’t support the policy.
Head told council the government already has no place in the bedrooms of the nation, and should also have no say in where those bedrooms are located, even if they belong to City employees. He also worried it would discriminate against City employees who live on reserve.
Lennox-Zepp reiterated concerns she’d made previously that many municipalities already had a hard time finding qualified people to fill important roles, and the new residency policy would make it even harder.
The policy was developed after a 2018 council resolution requested a policy be put in place to give higher priority to hiring local residents when bringing on new police officers and firefighters.
Since then, adminsitration received further instruction to expand the policy to all city employees.
Workers aren’t the only ones facing a potential residency requirement during Tuesday’s meeting.
A notice of motion put forward by Lennox-Zepp calls for the city to only accept applications, going forward, from city residents for appointment to the planning advisory committee and community services advisory committee.
The residential and moving policies are among the 21 items on Tuesday’s agenda.
Other topics up for discussion include a traffic calming review report, a funding request from the Prince Albert and Area Community Alcohol Strategy Steering Committee and a motion from Coun. Blake Edwards to set up a working group that focuses o homeless and substance abuse in the city’s downtown.
The meeting is set to start at 5 p.m. Tuesday and will be streamed on the city’s website.
Council agenda:
TUESDAY, MAY 25, 2021, 5:00 PM
COUNCIL CHAMBER, CITY HALL
- CALL TO ORDER
- PRAYER
- APPROVAL OF AGENDA
- DECLARATION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST
- ADOPTION OF MINUTES
5.1 May 3, 2021 City Council Meeting Minutes for Approval (MIN 21-48)
5.2 May 10, 2021 City Council Special Meeting Minutes for Approval (MIN 21-46)
5.3 May 17, 2021 City Council Special Meeting Minutes for Approval (MIN 21-49) - NOTICE OF PROCLAMATIONS
6.1 Community Pow Wow Day – May 28, 2021
6.2 Paramedic Services Week – May 23-29, 2021 - PRESENTATIONS & RECOGNITIONS
- PUBLIC HEARINGS
8.1 Bylaw No. 9 of 2021 – Landscaping Requirements in the M1 – Heavy Industrial Zoning District (RPT 21-238) - DELEGATIONS
- COMMUNICATIONS
- REPORTS OF ADMINISTRATION & COMMITTEES
11.1 Development Permit Application – Residential Care Facility – 500 38th Street
West (RPT 21-239)
11.2 Para Transit Bus Tender 38/21 (RPT 21-246)
11.3 Encapsulation Cell Monitoring and Reporting (RPT 21-252)
11.4 Traffic Calming Review (RPT 21-226)
11.5 2020 Audited Consolidated Financial Statements (RPT 21-188)
11.6 2021 Assessment Appeals (RPT 21-251)
11.7 1st Application for Title – Tax Enforcement (RPT 21-183)
11.8 Skate Sharpening Service Agreement – Kinsmen Arena (RPT 21-241)
11.9 Multi-Media Technical Service Agreement (RPT 21-247)
11.10 Kinsmen Ski and Snowboard Center Operator Agreement Renewal (RPT 21-243)
11.11 Create A Legacy Fund – Cooke Municipal Golf Course (RPT 21-235)
11.12 Prince Albert Elks Lodge No. 58 – Donation to Cooke Municipal Golf Course (RPT 21-236)
11.13 Freestanding Digital Sign for Sask Rivers School Division (RPT 21-230)
11.14 2021 Land Pricing Review – Crescent Acres 4(a) Subdivision (RPT 21-244)
11.15 Planning Communications – Public Notice Practices (RPT 21-245)
11.16 Residency Policy and Amended Moving Expenses Policy (RPT 21-254)
11.17 Funding Request – Prince Albert & Area Community Alcohol Strategy Steering Committee (RPT 21-253)
11.18 2021 Work Plan – Community Services Advisory Committee (RPT 21-232) - UNFINISHED BUSINESS
12.1 Motion – Councillor T. Lennox-Zepp – Committee Members Residency Requirement (MOT 21-6) Note: This Motion was referred from the May 3, 2022 City Council Meeting. - MAYOR & COUNCILLORS FORUM
- INQUIRIES
14.1 May 3, 2021 City Council Meeting Inquiry Responses (INQ 21-5) - INQUIRIES RESPONSES
- NOTICE OF MOTION
- MOTIONS
17.1 Motion – Councillor B. Edwards – Homeless and Substance Abuse Working Group (MOT 21-9)
17.2 Motion – Councillor T. Zurakowski – Police Service Base Tax Alternatives for Housing Agencies (MOT 21-7) - PUBLIC FORUM
With files from Jason Kerr.
