Wellesley Township council has approved hiring a full-time clerical assistant for the recreation and fire departments for the remainder of 2010.
The cost for the rest of 2010 is estimated at $34,550, based on a wage of $20.04 per hour and benefits. The money is to come out of the 2010 staff reserve.
The two departments made the request for a shared staff person during the 2010 budget deliberations.
In a report presented to council, fire chief Andrew Lillico outlined a number of responsibilities, including scheduling appointments, filing, typing correspondence, assembling training materials, completing purchase orders documentation, assembling fire package reports, drawing up new forms for collecting fire and emergency scene information, and helping complete grant submissions and compliance reports.
The creation of an extra staff position would allow the fire chief to spend more time with emergency management initiatives and fire inspections, the report explained. Lillico also noted that additional staffing is needed to make better use of the Fire Pro system for fire inspection data.
For his part, recreation director Brad Voisin also had a long list of requirements, including obtaining quotes and completing purchase orders for small purchases, maintaining a work order program, compiling training materials and keeping training records, using the recreation facility rental software, setting up a filing system for records management and helping prepare reports and presentations.
Voisin noted that a clerical assistant would also help with developing a recreation facilities policy and procedure manual and an updated Municipal Alcohol Policy.
In the report, Voisin explained that he spends 40 to 50 per cent of his time away from the office supervising staff and checking on the township’s rec. facilities.
The clerical assistant will divide their time between the two departments on a priority basis and report to the director of finance.
The report gave council the option to hire a full-time clerical assistant on a permanent basis for both departments; on a full-time temporary basis for the fire department; or on a full-time temporary basis for both departments.
Voting in favour of the third option, council agreed that the position will be evaluated before the 2011 budget to determine whether it should be extended, expanded or eliminated.
