By Pepper Parr
August 31st, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
“That idea that you don’t have an obligation to come into the office very often, that’s pretty much gone,” said Iain Dobson, co-founder of the Strategic Regional Research Alliance (SRRA) — suggesting work-from-home no longer defines most people’s “new normal.”
Dobson added that: “There’ll be very few people who work completely remotely.”
That might be the situation in Toronto, where the banks and large corporations take up a lot of the office space. The situation is not the same in the smaller cities
Traffic congestion in Toronto is almost impossible; not much better in parts of Burlington.
Service Burlington department at City Hall
The employers with production schedules haven’t changed who comes to work and who doesn’t. If you want to be paid – you show up.
The city has a policy that defines some jobs as “in the office every day” unless your job takes you out of the office.
Some jobs are split between in and out of city hall
And some jobs can be done from almost any location – and the city lets people work from home. We are aware of several people in the finance sector who seldom get to City Hall – they can do their work from a home office.
Does policy impact the level of service the public gets? There are departments that serve the city very well; there are some that need improvement. Service Burlington has never really worked. The people managing the telephones don’t have the training needed to be able to answer all the questions. The Region has the same problem; the police – they are a bit better.
City Hall is not the pleasant place it used to be. Walk in today, and you are faced with a large, open and for the most part vacant space. Sterile is the word that comes to my mind. There are people behind glass walls. Sometimes there is a security guard.
In a conversation with an individual who understands municipal government, I was told that when he went to the Service Burlington counter, the Clerk could not tell him who the City Manager was – we call the city Manager the CAO.
There was a time when it was different. The pictures below show City Hall staff taking part in a United Way fundraising event.
City Hall staff pull a truck during a United Way fundraising event.
Clerks give everyone that funny look all the time – and take best costume prize during the 2011 United Way fundraising event.
The culture, the tone, the values, and the commitment to serving the public is set by the City Manager. One of the problems with Burlington is that City Managers don’t stick around for very long.
Tim Dobbie was the City Manager for more than a decade. He knew every staff member by name; they understood what he expected and tended to deliver most of the time.
Curt Benson now serves as the CAO who manages the city. We know he will be in place until the 2026 municipal election.
After that, the new Council will decide if they want him to continue.
Benson is a decent bureaucrat. A planner by training, I’ve never seen him skirt an issue or give a fuzzy answer. I’ve heard him say, on more than one occasion: “We will try”
He doesn’t pontificate; usually has the answers in front of him. He prepares for his meetings.
Is a top-notch planner. Can he evolve into a City Manager?
Let us hope so.
I had a meeting with my ward 2 councillor last week. It was the first time I had been in City Hall for a very long time.
Aside from the security guard there was no one in the lobby. Most of the service desks had locked gates on them. It was a very eerie feeling.
Certainly not a warm inviting space with people bustling around.