Madhunt Publishing Company
Alliston, Ontario

Madhunt Publishing Company
founded March 22, 1999.

New Tecumseth Free Press Online
First Posted April 30, 1999

To email: Tony Veltri .

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'I think more details are warranted'

to the editor,

While I certainly encourage New Tecumseth to find efficiencies wherever possible, I am troubled by the limited nature of the press release announcing the restructuring of the parks and recreation department.

I have several questions, first; if the three members of staff are redundant, why now and not a year ago? I was unaware of any big downsizing at parks and rec. If there are plans to expand services at parks and recreation, won't we still needed these (trained & experienced?) people? Was there any effort to shift them to other positions within the Town as positions do open up frequently through attrition? Lastly, you can't just release people at no cost to the employer, is there a severance package?

I am fully aware that there is a confidential nature to such things however many of these questions could have been answered in general without getting into individual specifics.

I do understand where Parks and Recreation Manager Ray Osmond is going with these changes.

New Tecumseth's recreation facilities are simply not paying for themselves and he hopes by hiring these two new positions that he can than rent the space more effectively, generate more revenue and operate more efficiently. On the surface this makes good sense. However I think more details are warranted.

What will the Supervisor of Recreation and Community Services offer that is already not in place? What will the Marketing and Special Events Specialist - a very big title for what will probaby amount to a very small job. We simply don't have the venue space for very many events. And how many of them would be particularly complex requiring a specific person in that position?

I'm sorry but the parks and recreation department in our town is not so large that we can afford empire building. I think the business case should be made for these positions before they are hired, and the Town council should be a little more on top of this file, and not simply rubber stamp everything that Town staff come up with.

Ron Fischer,
Alliston