Penetanguishene will save close to $203,000 in wages by September.
Jeff Lees, chief administrative officer, informed council of this through a report at a recent special council meeting.
"March and April savings from the part-time contracts and seasonal staff, whether it be contracts that didn't start or ended early or contracts that were rescinded, etc., was approximately $40,000," he said, noting an additional $36,000 in wages will be saved by the end of this month.
In his report, he projects another $163,000 will be saved by the end of September, unless the circumstances change to allow for rehiring.
Councillor George Vadeboncoeur sought some clarification from Lees around the source of the savings.
"How does this relate to our payroll, excluding benefits?" asked Vadeboncoeur.
Currently, Lees said, the town has 48 full-time employees.
The money being saved this month is only about 14 percent of the entire $250,000 in wages that is supported through taxes, he explained.
An additional 49 employees making up the part-time, seasonal, and contract population, had their contracts rescinded, ended or cancelled, between late March and early April, Lees added.
"Of those positions, 18 are taxation-supported," he said. "The others are revenue or rate supported and as such have not been included in our savings number because they're self-sustainable through the water department, the wharf or recreation programming."
Some positions such as that of the wharf-master and dock employees fall under the revenue- and rate-supported positions.
"(The wharf-master's) position and the other positions down at the wharf are supported through wharf operations," he said.
Despite having only 48 full-time employees, Lees' report stated that "under the current and projected state moving forward through to the end of May, senior managers and supervisors are confident in ensuring staff are productive and contributing equally through their revised work plans to meet the necessary essential, critical and community supportive functions."
In his report, Lees acknowledged that the Municipal Emergency Control Group (MECG) has started considering what a “return to normal” plan might look like.
"It’s important to note, as the province starts to permit services and businesses to open, that appropriate resources and personnel exist to support any role the municipality will be required to play," he wrote.
One such example was the province’s recent announcement regarding community gardens.
"The MECG supports the town’s ecology garden opening up for the benefit of the community," says the report. "It will require resources to roll out the program, administer it, and further maintain the infrastructure owned by the town for the greater benefit of the community during these unfortunate times. The staff resources currently existing and their tasks will be reorganized to fulfill this role."
