Councillors say they were blindsided by staffing, cost concerns at Cambridge city hall

Staff with the City of Cambridge are taking stress leave as they are facing a hefty workload. CTV’s Spencer Turcotte explains why.

Tensions flared at Cambridge city hall last week after two councillors said they were caught off guard when new information surfaced about staffing pressures and unexpected costs tied to their motions.

City officials, meanwhile, say staff are walking a fine line between taking on new projects and burning out.

Councillor Scott Hamilton brought forward a motion asking staff to investigate the feasibility of various placemaking options for the city’s Gateway Fountains at 35 Pinebush Rd.

“All my motion was asking for was just a staff report,” Hamilton said.

But the discussion quickly shifted to concerns about workload and capacity.

City Manager Rob Axiak said significant feasibility work would be required before any revitalization could move ahead.

“There is a significant amount of feasibility work that would need to go into this. So we would need to be looking to hire an external consultant contractor,” Axiak said, adding there is a real capacity issue for staff to successfully deliver on new motions.

Mayor Jan Liggett weighed in saying some employees are really feeling the strain.

“We have staff going off on leave, a lot of it is stress leave. They can’t deal with it,” Liggett said.

Hamilton said those comments blindsided him.

“That definitely caught me off guard. I’d never heard about that before,” he said, noting he had engaged about five senior staff members over several months before bringing the motion forward.

He said had he known about staffing constraints or the potential need to hire outside consultants, he would have adjusted his motion ahead of time.

Councillor Corey Kimpson faced similar concerns with her motion to introduce the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Program to the City of Cambridge.

City Clerk Danielle Manton said there are workload constraints, including preparations for the municipal election, and that early research suggests the Sunflower Program would cost about $20,000 annually.

Kimpson said that figure was higher than expected.

“That was very different information than what I had going into that council meeting,” she said, adding staff had indicated support for the idea in earlier discussions.

Following the meeting, Axiak took to LinkedIn to ask his network how municipalities can better explain the reality of staff capacity when new projects and motions continue to come forward.

Both Hamilton and Kimpson said a brief conversation ahead of the meeting could have clarified expectations.

“As councillors, it’s our job as representatives of the community to bring forward work or to bring forward ideas,” Kimpson said.

Hamilton said he hopes the situation will improve collaboration.

“This will ultimately be something that will benefit the city because we’ll learn how to work together better,” he said.

Both motions remain alive, though in amended form. The broader debate over staffing capacity and council priorities has just scratched the surface.