City of Powell River staff will be looking into what to do with the unfilled planner position.
At the January 16 committee of the whole meeting, councillor George Doubt made a motion to receive correspondence from qathet Regional District (qRD) board chair Clay Brander and refer it to staff for a future report on the position of a social planner. The social planner position, shared by the city, regional district and Tla’amin Nation, has gone unfilled for 18 months.
City councillor Jim Palm said he was assuming the matter will be brought forward in budget deliberations. The motion passed unanimously.
Brander, in his correspondence, stated that he was writing to enquire about the status of the shared regional social planning service and expected timeframe the city anticipates for hiring a new social planner, or, what the city proposes.
“It is the view of the qRD that the social planner is a highly valued and necessary position in our region,” stated Brander. “As the level of need continues to increase in our community, we are seeing an unprecedented demand for social planning connections, and eagerly await this position to be filled.
“At present, we are having to absorb many of the social planner functions within our existing planning department, causing additional strain on the existing workloads of our team. It is our desire to see this shared position fulling functioning.”
Brander stated that qRD would greatly appreciate a response from the city, outlining its plans for the social planner position.
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