HUMBOLDT — The city has created a new department focused on public and employee safety.
As of Jan. 1, the Protective Services Department will deal with policing, emergency measures preparedness, employee safety, development inspections, and policing and bylaw enforcement.
Mike Kwasnica, the fire chief, will lead the new department as its director.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to oversee the development of this department and to ensure that the delivery of services and programs have a positive impact on our community,” he said.
Joe Day, Humboldt’s administrator, said there was a need to address the growing significance of matters covered by the new department. As well, they had grown in scope, responsibilities and duties.
“Employee safety and public safety is an area we’d like to see a little more attention paid to and I think that by splitting Mike’s role off into a department onto itself will allow him to have some of that authority to look into things and make recommendations that we otherwise weren’t necessarily putting focus to,” he said during the Jan. 27 council meeting.
Rob Muench, Humboldt’s mayor, said most cities have such departments.
“It's something that the city manager feels is going to give better service to our community,” he said.
According to briefing documents given to council, Kwasnica will receive a salary increase due to being promoted to a director level, but it is anticipated that other staffing changes through 2020 will help mitigate the increase for the next year or two.
Muench said that fire chiefs are in high demand in the communities around the province.
“This is something that we've decided to do to make sure that we're covering off what we need to cover off,” he said. “There may be some extra expenses but it's something that as a city we feel we need to do to make sure that our population is being serviced properly.”
