Mayerthorpe hiring writers for grant applications, raising questions

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The Town of Mayerthorpe has put out a call for individuals or firms to possibly serve as grant writers, to assist the town in applying for grants.

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However, the request for proposals (RFP) to provide the town with grant writing services has prompted some questions as to why current town staff can’t do this work.

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“The grants landscape has become very, very competitive,” Mayor Janet Jabush told the Mayerthorpe Freelancer.

“There are far more groups today looking for grant funding than there ever used to be, so grant writing isn’t just about filling out paperwork. It’s about being able to tell a compelling story for the teams reviewing grant applications.”

The town is looking for an expert to assist with the research, writing, submissions and reporting of grant applications to the federal or provincial governments or other agencies, according to the RFP. Grants would be sought for development or town initiatives.

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The grant writer would work with municipal staff to locate funding opportunities, work on grant proposals, and provide budgets and progress reports.

The RFP states that individuals or consulting forms may apply to provide grant writing services on contingency or by commission.

The request for proposals opened on July 10 with a deadline of Aug. 11.

News of the RFP led some social media users to question if hiring grant writers is wise spending and if grant writing can be done in-house, by current town staff.

Karen St. Martin, Mayerthorpe chief administrative officer (CAO) from 2007 to 2022, handled grant applications herself, Jabush confirmed.

However, Jabush suggested some people might not be aware that grant writing has become more onerous. 

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As for the expense of grant writing services, Jabush said provincial and federal grants often include a percentage of funding for administration, which could be used for grant writers. 

Jabush acknowledged some social media users feel Mayerthorpe hasn’t changed much since 2022, raising the question of why more staff is needed.

“The reality is that the town long operated under-staffed,” Jabush told the Freelancer.

“The town has operated anywhere from one to two-and-a-half full-time positions under what would normally be considered appropriate for the workload.”

Jabush said she feels the current size of town staff is closer to what it should have been over the past few years.

Current CAO Chris Leggett told the Freelancer earlier this year that recreation was separated from town Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) and a recreation co-ordinator was hired.

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Leggett said he looked at town organization and had found inconsistencies in responsibilities, resulting in the split of rec and FCSS. Leggett argued the division has worked well.

Meanwhile, the public works department isn’t large, at about three core staff, Jabush said.

Additionally, the position of chief financial officer (CFO) is currently vacant. In May, town council considered merging the CAO and CFO positions, with Leggett in both roles.

While Jabush said the positions haven’t been merged, the CAO is overseeing town finances. The town may hire an accountant, but Jabush said that person would report to Leggett.

bquarin@postmedia.com

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