I find it hard to believe that I'm agreeing with Mitch Tweel but he's right in this case. Charlottetown could probably use a few Doctors but a "Spin Doctor" is the last thing taxpayers want to see. Back when the City amalgamated with Sherwood, Parkdale and West Royalty probably would have been a good time to put someone out there in a position like this but that is not what they did... they took the managers from each and gave them each a position in the new City. Had it been a private business merging three operations then they would have appointed one manager and gave the other two a package. The new manager would have developed a business plan that probably would have included a role for someone in the administration such as the economic development officer to deal with “communications”. But as it stands the City is already top heavy and out of control on its administrative costs and they should just give these duties to someone currently on staff without adding any expense. Hiring someone new for this position without someone stepping down from the current hierarchy is a total waste of taxpayers’ money and it's time for people to call their Councillors and tell them to focus more on reducing administrative expenses then worrying whether the City needs a new spokesperson.... now I could probably make a case that there are a few Councillors that might need a Doctor but I don't think a "Spin Doctor" is what I had in mind....
New communications officer concerns councillor
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
CBC News
Charlottetown city Coun. Mitch Tweel opposes the city's plan to hire a communications officer, and says he will continue to speak for himself.
'It's authentic, it's unedited, and it's real.'— Coun. Mitch Tweel
"A communications director will not be speaking for me," Tweel told CBC News Tuesday.
Despite Tweel's opposition, interviews are about to take place to hire someone for the job.
Tweel, one of the more outspoken councillors in Charlottetown, opposed the idea of hiring a new communications officer when it was first raised earlier this year. The job description for the new position states the winning applicant will "recommend whether to initiate communications on potentially controversial issues … and then manage these processes to ensure consistency of the message."
Department managers are more than capable of doing that job, said Tweel, as he is capable of delivering his own message.
"I feel very confident myself in representing my constituents," he said.
"To me that's grassroots democracy. It's authentic, it's unedited, and it's real."
A consistent message
Coun. David MacDonald also said he will continue to speak his mind publicly, but MacDonald adds he's in favour of the new position because it's important the public hears one message from the city.
"Anytime that we can have some consistency in the messages that go out it would help all of us," said MacDonald.
"Clarity and consistency and making sure the right message gets conveyed the first time has the potential of saving us a lot [of] the need to do followup messages for clarification."
The new communications officer will cost city taxpayers between $41,000 and $49,000 a year.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
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I don't like when government bodies hire people to speak on their behalf because, in my opinion, speaking for the government is part of the job we hire politicians to do.
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