City hired communications consultant months after former Council refused to fund position
NANAIMO — Less than three months after the majority of Nanaimo’s previous Council fought to remove a communications director position from the budget, the City hired a consultant to provide the service.
Documents obtained by NanaimoNewsNOW through a freedom of information request showed the City spent more than $18,000 combined in August and September on communications services specifically related to Discontent City.
In-camera meeting minutes showed interim chief administrative officer Jake Rudolph asked Council to approve the consulting work in late July, one week after his first day on the job. The City then signed a contract with Trish Webb, principal of Jericho Strategies, to handle a variety of communication tasks solely on the tent city file.
Rudolph said he quickly diagnosed the City’s “inability to effectively communicate” its attempts to respond to the controversial issue.