Wilmot council defers proposed communications and revenue manager positions to 2027 budget discussions

By Galen Simmons

With a municipal election less than five months away, Wilmot councillors opted against adding two new management positions to the township's organizational structure this year, instead referring both proposals to the 2027 budget process for consideration by the next term of council.

At its June 1 committee of the whole meeting, councillors considered separate staff recommendations to establish a manager of communications, public engagement and strategic initiatives position and a manager of revenue position. Both recommendations were ultimately referred to the 2027 budget process rather than moving ahead with recruitment in 2026.

The proposed positions stemmed from separate consultant-led reviews completed for the township this year. The communications role was recommended as part of the township's refreshed corporate communications strategy, while the revenue position emerged from KPMG's financial maturity assessment and long-term financial planning work.

Communications role intended to enhance communications capacity and public engagement

According to a report from deputy CAO and director of corporate services Harold O'Krafka, the proposed manager of communications, public engagement and strategic initiatives position is intended to support implementation of the township's recently approved 2026-2030 communications strategy.

The communications strategy, developed with assistance from Redbrick Communications, identified the need for increased investment in communications, public engagement and storytelling. The consultant's business case concluded a full-time communications manager would allow the township to take a more proactive, professional and strategic approach to both internal and external communications.

“Effectively, the strategy and the service-delivery review identified that the public wants more communications,” O’Krafka said. “They’re happy with the consistent level and enhancements being made over the last number of years, but they continue to seek out more opportunities to communicate with the township to know what’s going on, and public engagement is an important part of that.

“Staff have seen a similar response from directors and staff in general. We enjoy communicating with the public and we’ve seen a consistent approach that makes it easier to communicate with the public. So, I think there’s a willingness and a desire on both sides of the equation to enhance the communications with the public, and certainly council has made that clear, that further and better communications is always welcome.”

Staff proposed filling the position beginning in the fourth quarter of 2026. The role was evaluated within Grade H of the township's compensation grid, with an annual salary range of approximately $101,500 to $123,300. Staff estimated the 2026 cost would range from roughly $33,000 to $41,000 and could be accommodated within the existing communications budget by reallocating funds currently used for consultant support.

The full-year cost would have been incorporated into the township's 2027 operating budget, partially offset through reduced consultant spending and potential cost recovery from communications work associated with major capital projects.

“On one hand, I certainly would love to see the communications function enhanced, and I know that there is certainly benefit to it, no doubt,” Coun. Kris Wilkinson said. “I think my concern is more so around the fact that we would be looking to hire and move this forward, and therefore essentially locking in what would be a needed increase already for the 2027 budget. And my concern is what does that look like?

“ … I think when you look at what we desire to add to our staffing complement and also taking into account what the tax increases have been over the last number of years, I’m hesitant to want to lock this in … without seeing the full effects of it.”

Coun. Steven Martin, the only councillor to vote against referring the communications manager position to 2027 budget discussions for consideration by a new council, noted his concern that a new council may not want to commit to new staffing so soon after being elected.

“If there is a gap, then I would worry it could be problematic,” Martin said. “I’m thinking about, in our term, the number of items that we’ve had that required a lot of communication. And I think about the difficulty that has occurred, maybe when misunderstandings have occurred, so I’m not sure that I would be in favour of delaying it.”

Revenue manager recommended by KPMG

Councillors also considered a recommendation from treasurer and director of financial services Harjot Grewal to establish a manager of revenue position as part of KPMG's review of the township's financial operations.

KPMG's draft financial maturity assessment identified challenges related to ownership and oversight of revenue-related functions, including taxation, utility billing, accounts receivable, collections, grants and deferred revenue. The consultant recommended creating a dedicated management position to provide oversight of those functions and improve accountability, reporting consistency and internal controls.

The proposed position would also support audit readiness, financial reporting and implementation of future initiatives such as enterprise resource planning software and long-term financial planning.

“This position is about establishing clear ownership, improving oversight and reducing key-person dependency,” Grewal said. “Currently, we have no redundancy on the financial-services team, and a lot of knowledge sits with key individuals. So, this position would be backfilling some of those roles as well, just ensuring that the finance team is stable through any changes that happen in the future.”

The position was tentatively evaluated at Grade J on the township's pay grid, with a salary range of approximately $116,400 to $141,400. Including benefits and employer costs, staff estimated the annual cost at roughly $166,800, with a prorated 2026 cost of approximately $83,400 if the position were filled in July. Staff proposed funding the first-year cost through the operating reserve before incorporating the full annual cost into the 2027 budget.

During discussion, councillors expressed concerns about committing future councils to ongoing operating-budget increases before the Oct. 26 municipal election. Several members indicated they were not opposed to the position itself but preferred allowing the next council to evaluate the long-term financial implications as part of the 2027 budget process.

“I’m struggling both with the deputy treasurer role not filled – and I understand the rationale – but we haven’t had our finance department working at full capacity in a long time,” Mayor Natasha Salonen said. “So, I’d kind of, personally, like to see what can be done with them working at full capacity, as well as we still have KPMG engaged at this point in time.

“I’m pretty confident with the teams that exist, we can get the budget and get the rest of the financial long-term planning … done until the 2027 budget where, again, I would like to personally see this weighed against other options.”

In response to a question about when a new deputy treasurer would be hired, Grewal said that hiring process had been deferred until council decided whether to hire a revenue manager this year, as that would have changed the deputy treasurer’s job description. Since council referred that position to 2027 budget discussions, Grewal said the township would begin recruiting for a deputy treasurer immediately