Penticton’s core review was a model for other communities – and now they’re fumbling it away. Efficiency and cost control is not a one-off thing; it takes discipline year after year after year, and, unfortunately for Penticton taxpayers, a hire-happy CAO and uber-compliant mayor and council are giving back the ground gained.

The Penticton Herald has a great front page story today on management bloating by 27% since the core review cut several non-union jobs. They’ve added 10 more managers during a time the population of Penticton grew by just 411 people.

From the Herald:

Ten non-unionized staff positions have been placed back on the City of Penticton’s payroll since implementation of the controversial 2010 core services review slashed a total of 31 jobs throughout the organization.

And while the current city manager says the additions were required to heal job cuts that went too deep, a watchdog who once held up the core review as an example for other communities to follow believes local politicians have since fallen asleep at the wheel.

“It’s disappointing to see Penticton slowly falling into the same trap that created the need for the core review in the first place,” said Jordan Bateman, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

He cites as an example council’s decision earlier this month to create a new $85,000-a-year position for an engagement officer.

Based on letters to the editor in Penticton newspapers and calls to his office from city residents, “I don’t see any community more engaged,” said Bateman. “What a hilarious position to create.”

I suppose this is good news for the core review consultancy world – as lazy mayors and councillors bloat payrolls, there will always be a market for another core review every 10 years or so.

Government is like a junk drawer – it takes diligence to keep it from overflowing and accumulating more junk as time goes on. Penticton’s leadership is failing their taxpayers.