City council at impasse over remote work for 170 employees

(CTV News London file photo)

A long and meandering debate by members of city council ended where it began.

On Wednesday, lobbyists for the development industry and local homebuilders called on council’s Strategic Priority and Policy Committee to end the rotating work-from-home schedule for staff in the Building Department and Planning Department.

“We don’t know who is in the office which week, who is there for three days, who is there for two days,” CEO of the London Home Builders Association Jared Zaifman told the committee.

“Our industry has experienced a number of issues with the system now, the Alternate Work (Strategy),” added Mike Wallace of the London Development Institute.

Both complained that having planners and building officials still working from home half of the time is slowing communication and approvals necessary to reach London’s goal of 47,000 new residential units.

“They wouldn’t be here addressing this if they didn’t think it was important to achieve our (housing) goal,” said Coun. Steve Lehman.

He proposed a motion to order the 170 employees back to the office full time by November 1.

Lehman warned that inaction will slow the residential building boom, “They’ll go to other (cities) where their stuff is getting through faster. We want to get stuff built in this town.”

City Manager Lynne Livingstone explained that alternative work strategies were implemented as the pandemic was winding down.

Those departments are either working 3-2-2-3 (remote days vs. office days) or 5-5 (remote days vs. office days) schedules.

Livingstone notified council of several implications to ordering all 170 employees back to the office every day

• estimated six to 12 employees would leave for jobs in other cities
• Planning and Building Departments would require 25 per cent more office space equivalent to a floor and a half of city hall
• additional office equipment
• lower staff morale
• greater difficulty recruiting new employees

Civic Administration also reminded the committee that an extensive process to accelerate the approval and inspection process is underway.

Eleven new positions are being hired in the department to handle rising workload during the local building boom.

Coun. Hadleigh McAlister warned that Lehman’s motion could backfire at a time when planners and building officials are in high demand across the province.

“Doing this will decimate the department. I think it would make things worse,” he argued.

“We need people who can do the job,” countered Coun. Susan Stevenson. “If they can’t be here to do the jobs our housing partners say they need, then we don’t have the right people, unfortunately.”

Over a couple hours of debate with little room for compromise, council members appeared deadlocked 7-7 (Mayor Morgan absent).

As the meeting approached the 11 p.m. adjournment, frustrated committee members refused to pass a motion to extend the debate any longer.

Realizing the deadlock wouldn’t be settled in the waning minutes, Lehman put forward a motion to refer the entire matter to the council meeting on July 25.

The referral was approved 10-4.