A new study is highlighting the growing workforce challenges facing municipalities across northeastern Ontario. The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM), along with four workforce planning boards, surveyed municipal representatives about their ability to recruit and retain employees. The findings suggest communities are facing increasing competition for workers needed to deliver essential local services. The survey was launched at the FONOM conference in Timmins in May. Sixty-one municipal representatives responded, most from communities with populations of fewer than 5,000 people. FONOM officials said the results confirmed what many municipalities are already experiencing: recruiting qualified workers is becoming increasingly difficult. Kapuskasing Mayor and FONOM President Dave Plourde told CTV News the challenge is being felt across the region. “It’s becoming increasingly more difficult to recruit people to positions within communities,” Plourde said. Ninety-four per cent of respondents reported challenges attracting qualified candidates. Senior management, public works and finance were identified as some of the most difficult positions to fill. Plourde said the situation represents a significant shift for municipalities that once had little trouble replacing employees. “It’s always been real easy to replace people and more and more municipalities are having a hard time,” he said. The competition isn’t limited to smaller communities. The survey found mining and other public-sector employers are among the biggest sources of competition for municipal workers. Timmins Mayor Michelle Boileau said the pressure is particularly noticeable in skilled trades and public works. “We especially feel it in areas where we find ourselves competing with industry and so especially, the positions in the trades, our public works, our heavy equipment operators, mechanics, electricians,” Boileau said. To remain competitive, three-quarters of municipalities surveyed have increased salaries or adjusted pay scales. But Plourde said higher wages can also put pressure on municipal budgets and taxpayers. “Those services become more expensive to us and so the cost is really to the taxpayer, and it just becomes more expensive to offer those services.” The report recommends several measures to help municipalities address the labour shortage, including expanded training and certification opportunities, salary benchmarking, recruitment resources and succession planning. Boileau said municipalities may also need to reconsider how local governments are funded if they are expected to compete with other industries for workers. “As long as we’re running our municipalities using only the tax base and based only on property taxes, we’re always going to have this challenge,” she said. FONOM said it will use the findings to continue discussions with the provincial government about potential solutions to the growing municipal labour shortage.
