Calgary city councillors seek independent review of administration realignment – Calgary

A pair of Calgary city councillors are seeking a top-to-bottom look at the internal workings of city hall after a significant organizational realignment.

Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp and Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot plan to introduce a motion at next week’s Executive Committee meeting that calls for an independent review into administration’s realignment, which began in 2020.

“What I think we need to understand is what are we getting, what’s been executed and is it working,” Sharp told reporters Wednesday.

According to the motion, the review would look into any costs associated with the realignment, the number, type and cost of any new positions created, impacts to staff during and after the realignment, as well as measurable effectiveness and benefits of the move.

“I’ve been asking these kinds of questions throughout this term and I’ve been given a lot of soft answers,” Chabot said.

The restructuring of city administration was overseen by the city’s chief administrative officer David Duckworth, who entered the role the year prior and saw the creation of seven new city departments.

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The move was meant to “create opportunities to be more innovative and collaborative in delivering services,” as well as streamline service delivery and make information sharing more transparent, according to the city’s website.

However, Sharp said she’s heard public concerns that there are silos that remain between some city departments.

There are some curious about the timing of the move, with just months until the next municipal election in October.

Chabot is running for re-election in Ward 10, and Sharp is running for mayor, both under the Communities First party banner.

The motion also says the review wouldn’t be complete until the end of 2026.

“It looks like it’s a criticism of the existing system and meant to look like they’re being accountable and that they’re standing up for government efficiency and others are not,” said Lori Williams, an associate professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University.

“It looks more like a campaign statement than an actual effort to get to the bottom of the real problem.”

Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek, who is also running for re-election, said she plans to look at the motion to see if there’s merit behind the move.

“It’s always important to evaluate whether or not you have achieved your outcomes when you go through a major organizational change like a realignment,” Gondek said. “There might be some merit to it, there might be some value.”

However, Chabot defended the timing of the move and said he isn’t “electioneering” with the motion.

“Leading up to the election, I think it’s important for Calgarians to feel confident that their council is doing their due diligence to ensure the city is operating efficiently and effectively,” he said.

In a statement to Global News, city administration said its always open to “continuous learning and improvements” and welcomes any findings the review may highlight if council decides to approve it.

“Administration now has an updated structure that will support the growing and diverse needs of our city,” the statement reads.

“We are seeing the results of our actions with improved Calgarian and employee satisfaction.”

The motion will undergo a technical review at a committee meeting on July 22 before heading to city council as a whole for a final say.

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