Several new positions are being added to the Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission to address gaps within the organization.
During a meeting on Thursday, commission members approved a realignment of operational staff between the PUC and CK’s Infrastructure and Engineering Services department, which includes hiring 14 new managers, supervisors, coordinators, and an engineer technologist.
According to a PUC report, these new positions will fill identified gaps within the organization to provide more efficient service, succession planning, reduce liability and mitigate environmental issues earlier. The recruitment of new positions was also recommended by consulting firm KPMG as part of a PUC governance review.
“A lot of municipalities around us are getting money from the federal and provincial governments, and we’re missing some of those opportunities because we do not have shovel-ready designs. We really need to get ahead of that,” said PUC General Manager Darren Galbraith. “This staff will be working on ensuring that we’re having projects fully designed so we can put in better applications for that funding.”
All of the new positions will be funded through water and wastewater rates.
The Chatham-Kent PUC currently has $4.4 billion worth of water and wastewater assets, with a current annual budget of $71 million. There are 46 unionized and 24 non-union staff, who provide operations and maintenance to six water and nine wastewater treatment plants servicing Chatham-Kent.