5.3 Recreation, Culture and Parks Department and Committees of Council
5.3.1 Recreation, Culture and Parks Department Staffing
The Town recently underwent a market review to assess needs in this area. If the results of this work provide a ‘baseline’ for a 2024 staff complement, it can be used to project needs over the term of the Plan due to both infrastructure (parks and facilities) and program/event service development. The following sections highlight key areas of staff requirements based on the Master Plan’s recommendations. In some cases, additional staff may be needed while in others existing positions may require new/ enhanced competencies.
The Town’s Director of Recreation, Culture and Parks, supported by an Administrative Assistant is responsible for three major divisions within the Department: Culture and Heritage, Parks and Facilities, and Recreation Programs and Services. Each of these divisions is led by a manager and supported by supervisors and coordinators responsible for parks and facility operations, and program/service delivery. Appendix C contains the Department’s organizational chart. The following outlines staffing considerations to support the Master Plan’s implementation, under each of the three divisions. The Recreation, Culture, Parks Service Review noted that “RCP makes extensive use of best-practices including…service contracts, extensive use of seasonal and part time staff…” (Executive Summary, p.1). These practices, however, are now under review due to changes in the economy post-Covid that are reflected in challenges with respect to attracting and retaining staff. Consultation with the Town indicated that the municipality is working towards becoming more competitive in the job market - and reducing turnover - by offering more full time, salaried positions to replace contractual, part time and seasonal hires. Investing in staff - balancing service provision with the correct number of people needed to deliver it in all areas - along with more training and succession planning were areas noted for development.
Programs and Services
Programs and Services includes Sports League Facilitators. As the scope of services offered by the Town increases, and collaborations extend to groups beyond sport interests, facilitation work will need to include these providers. Existing staff positions may be able take on additional work in this area, although it is likely that sport and non-sport interests would also be engaged separately due to differences in the types of services they offer. Additional facilitation activities will be most important in policy development directed to supporting volunteer organizations, and in ongoing service planning and evaluation work. These topics are discussed in Sections 5.5 and 5.7, respectively. The Programs and Services Division is backed by Business Services. The Communications staff position is responsible for parks and recreation services communication and promotion. Service
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Town of Tillsonburg | DRAFT Parks and Recreation Master Plan
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