PICTOU
The future of the Pictou County Wellness Centre is headed in a different direction, says County Warden Robert Parker.
Parker spoke of highlights from a Pictou County Wellness Centre transition plan Monday that is expected to assist the board authority and staff as it prepares to take over complete control of the facility in March.
“Management will no longer be with Nustadia but we will have our own management and this should save us close to $100,000,” said Parker. “The savings will be larger than that but some of the costs incurred will include some of the work they (Nustadia) have been doing, but it should save close to $100,000. That should help us next year.”
The transition report was completed by Valerie Ryan and approved by the Pictou County board of directors Monday afternoon, outlining how management will work under a new complementary model of governance.
This model of governance means the board of directors will set the governance policies that need to be implemented by the chief operating officer David Hood and he will set the administrative policies on how the organization will run.
Ryan states in the report that the board of directors will need to play a role that ensures “appropriate resources and development for the chief operating officer that enables an effective organization to operate the PC Wellness Centre.”
She said accountability is key and to ensure success as well as additional support of the COO it is recommended that three independent board members be added to the board.
Five of the board members will continue to represent the municipal units of Pictou, New Glasgow, Trenton, Stellarton and the county, while the other three members would hold a specific skill set in marketing, operations and finance as well as having strong ties to their community.
Parker said the board of directors has decided to extend its deadline for applications in effort to find the right people.
“The message I wanted to bring here tonight is if anyone knows someone that has qualifications they are looking for please talk to them and put their name forward. These are positions that we need really good people at. People with the right expertise but people wanting to be part of the Wellness Centre and move it in the right direction,” he said.
The warden said the report also recommended three of the four top management positions currently filled at the Wellness Centre also be advertised.
“It was felt by Ms. Ryan it was best to post those and the people in those jobs now can apply for them as well as anyone else so we are out there trying to get the best people possible.”
The current job postings are for customer engagement and events manager, operations manger as well as marketing and brand communications manager, all reporting to the chief operating officer.
Council did clarify that the positions being advertised are not the exactly the same management positions currently filled at the centre, but similar. It is also recommended that in an effort to focus on revenue growth, a portion of payment for both the communications and event manager positions be commission based.
Parker also shared with council that billing for the Pictou County Wellness Centre will be done by the Shared Services Authority after Nustadia’s contract expires in March.
One of the bigger changes regarding the financial picture, Parker said, is that the board of directors will no longer be referring to a deficit but rather municipal contributions.
“The suggestion is they will be upfront, municipal contributions so if the deficit is around $800,000 this year the board would decide what the projected deficit is for next year. You would pay that money up front as a municipal contribution and it would probably be paid quarterly.”
He said a similar process is already in place for shared services. However, he cautioned council that if the Wellness Centre board budgets for $700,000 in municipal contributions and it comes in over that, the municipal units will have to cover the owing money.
“The feeling is we will get away from the word ‘deficit,’ but whether you call it this or call it that, you still have bills to pay and you don’t want to focus on that. The aim is to try and get a more positive view of the Wellness Centre,” Parker said.
It is estimated the county’s municipal contribution for this fiscal year will be about $220,000.
County council reacted positively to Parker’s report on the transition and the attempts being made to control costs.
“I am pleased with the attempt and effort being made to control the deficit,” said Coun. David Parker. “It is a sincere attempt to reign in costs, which is one of the biggest concerns I have heard.”
However, concerns were raised by Coun. Debi Wadden about the lack of available minutes from Wellness Centre board meetings.
“Are we going to get a timely report on what was being discussed today?” she asked the warden.
The warden said there has been an issue with getting the minutes approved because of a large number of errors in them. So far, he said, minutes from eight PCWC board meetings are waiting for approval.
The annual general meeting for the 2016-2017 fiscal year of the Pictou County Wellness Centre will be held Monday, Jan. 22, at 10 a.m.
