By Emily Stonehouse

I was not particularly surprised to hear the crux of concerns at the Minden all-candidates meeting circulate around people.

It’s long been known that there are issues with staffing in Minden Hills. People seem to come and go, switch municipalities, come back, leave indefinitely, move backwards, move forwards.

Regular readers would know that I was a senior staffer in Minden Hills, before they bumped tourism and economic development up to a County level after I left during Covid – one area with a one-tiered focus we’ve been doing for years since.

I didn’t leave because of the pay or the people or the pandemic.

I left because I was unhappy. Because there were a group of figureheads we had elected, who truly didn’t have our best interest at heart. They said they were there to represent ‘the people’, sure, but as staff, weren’t we ‘the people’ too?

I don’t think they’re bad people. Councillors are wedged into a tricky situation. Elected to represent their wards, while in reality, it’s the staff that do the vast majority of work. They have the connections, the networks, the expertise, the experience. They’ve gone to school to study for these roles, dedicated their lives to public service. In good and in bad, in sickness and in health.

I was deeply discouraged to not hear a single council hopeful defend the staff of Minden Hills during this past weekend’s all-candidates meeting. There are issues, for sure. A lack of response coming from staffers on major questions and concerns. Radio silence when businesses are looking to move ahead.

But I can absolutely guarantee one thing: Staff aren’t doing that on purpose. They’re not responding to emails because they’re burnt out. They’re exhausted. They’re overwhelmed. They’re in over their heads. They’re looking to get out. They’re unhappy.

I know that, because I was in that exact position.

And for every single council hopeful to place blame and point fingers at staff shows me that there is a deep lack of understanding between staff and council.

Now don’t get me wrong, I get as annoyed as the next guy when a staffer doesn’t respond. It stalls stories, holds out on facts. But I carry a level of empathy for those who have chosen to take on these roles. They’re the definition of thankless jobs. Wins credited to council, losses laid on staff.

While we need to hold everyone – yes, everyone – accountable for the jobs they signed up for, a lack of compassion and empathy for the ones that should be working as a team is the very foundation for the bulk of issues that arise out of Minden Hills.

While a few candidates seemed to understand the human element of the job, other council hopefuls suggested a policy in place to make sure emails are responded to in a prompt manner. 24 to 48 hours was the suggestion. “If they can’t do that, maybe it’s time for a new job.”

Here’s my suggestion: Make Minden a better place by actually respecting your staff. Make it a place people want to work, so that there are people on-hand to promptly respond to emails; administrative tasks are handled by administrative staff, and the areas of focus are given time, commitment, and attention.

The staff are the literal lifeblood of any municipality. While council are the figureheads, staff are the neck, the body, the limbs, the heart. If council hopefuls had said ‘yes, there are problems, let’s focus on how we can support staff better,” that would have been one thing. Instead, fingers were flung, triggers were pulled.

Clearly I’m not alone in this: You couldn’t pay me enough to work for a township where no one has my back.