The Village of Beiseker’s public works department is having trouble retaining staff.
Public works supervisor of operations Bill Hnybida says a big part of the problem is that a small town like Beiseker can’t afford to pay the kind of wages that a city like Airdrie can,
Hnybida added that most of their workers use the position as a stepping-stone job.
“Guys get into the field and they use the stepping stone to get their tickets and move on because that’s where the money is,” he said.
“The problem being, the position we’re in, we still have to have licensed guys doing it.”
Mayor Ray Courtman says the problem isn’t just specific to Beiseker.
“It’s consistently been a problem with pretty much every small municipality in the province, especially ones closer to the bigger centres,” he said. “We can’t afford to pay the money that larger centres can afford to pay. We can’t afford even the beginning wage of a public works worker in say the City of Calgary or the City of Airdrie.”
Right now the public works department is short two workers and Alberta’s low unemployment rate means there isn’t a large labour pool to draw from. According to Alberta Works, the province’s unemployment rate was 4.5 per cent for the month of January, second lowest in Canada.
Hnybida says he needs more than just an able-bodied person for the job.
“One thing you do have to do is be able to multi task,” he said. “The water and sewer is a very small portion of what we do. You’re doing everything not just a specific field.”
Courtman added being short two people creates a myriad of difficulties in the village.
“We constantly have to worry about a personnel problem and it doesn’t only affect public works, it affects our office staff and every part of the village. We just don’t have the funds,” said Courtman, adding he believes the Village has other things to offer potential employees.
“For instance… if you live in the village, you don’t have to go very far to get to work, nothing is very far in Beiseker. You get to know the people here – we’re a nice lot.
“There are many benefits to working in a small village, but there’s that money issue that always comes up,” he said.
During the Village council meeting on Feb. 11, councillors opined that the Village could start advertising the job openings in more than just the local newspaper, expanding their search to include those looking on the web for work.
CAO Jo-Anne Lambert says the Village will post the jobs to the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association’s website and the Alberta Water and Wastewater Operators Association’s website.
