Additional contract positions to support Jasper's ongoing recovery efforts following the disastrous wildfires have been created.
Jasper council approved the eight new positions at its Tuesday (Sept. 3) meeting, which will see new staff hired to assist with the multiple complex issues faced by the municipality. The positions, however, won't be filled until the municipality can confirm they qualify for provincial funding through the Disaster Recovery Program (DRP).
“Obviously, the faster that we can get the recovery initiatives moving and return Jasper to what visitors and residents have understood to be the normal state of affairs, the better off it would be for all involved,” Michael Fark, the municipality's director of recovery, said. “So, we are trying to prioritize timeliness and quick action with these requests, which is why the team size is quite large, especially at the beginning.”
The expected total annual cost for the positions is $900,000. The conditional grant would cover 90 per cent of the cost, and the municipality would cover the remaining 10 per cent.
The new full-time positions include a recovery operations project manager, a finance recovery coordinator, a recovery liaison and information coordinator, a housing/social recovery manager and a social recovery coordinator.
For additional administrative support, council also approved an administrative coordinator, an information technology coordinator and a human resource coordinator.
“The intent is to do term positions consistent with the term that I have been provided, which is two years, and that should see us through the bulk of the early days of the recovery, and then there’ll be the opportunity to adjust manpower required at that point,” Fark said.
He added the municipality would focus on recruiting from the local community before looking elsewhere.
Council previously approved the hiring of 10 contract firefighters and a captain, as well as the director of recovery position. These new positions are in response to the Jasper fire.
Coun. Ralph Melnyk asked if Parks Canada would help fund these new positions since they would be part of the Joint Recovery Coordination Centre.
Fark replied the requested positions would help the municipality match what Parks Canada was already contributing.
Coun. Rico Damota was in favour of the motion but noted some residents were concerned about the increased spending during a time when the tax base has been significantly diminished.
The municipality has estimated the townsite had lost about $283 million in property values, equating to a $2.2 million drop in tax revenue.
Jasper CAO Bill Given said the municipality would need to engage with both levels of government on how the municipality could stabilize its core revenues to pre-wildfire status and pay for disaster-related spending not covered by the DRP.
“We’re examining avenues to mitigate both concerns, and we expect that we’ll have some recommendations for you on advocacy,” Given said. “It will take some advocacy, and I think that advocacy will have to be targeted to both provincial and federal governments to ensure that Jasper is able to be financially viable through this challenging time.”
Damota noted this was a good time to advocate for a long-desired resort municipality status, which would give tourist towns such as Jasper, Banff and Canmore more tools to get revenue from visitors.
Mayor Richard Ireland spoke in favour of the option and emphasized this would just establish the positions, not fill them just yet.
“It is not a motion necessary to fill the positions, and I have faith that the net will be there before anybody leaps, and that net will be an economic relief net,” he said. “We will know whether there is DRP funding or other funding for these decisions before they are billed.”
