Municipal Services

Rob Warnock, Director of Municipal Services

1.) How and when did your employment journey begin with the City of Williams Lake?

I have been with the City of Williams Lake for 33 years. I got my first job with the City in 1989 on the streets crew where I was patching, crack sealing, doing snow removal and many more jobs.

I moved up the ladder to lead hand and then became a foreman for the streets/parks crew. In 2008 I moved over to the Williams Lake Fire Department where I worked for 13 years. There, I moved up to Deputy Fire Chief in charge of Operations and Training before taking over the role as Director of Municipal Services in February 2021.

2.) What is your current role (and what does your job entail)?

In my current role I manage the following under the position of Director of Municipal Services:

• Two managers of Public Works
• Two coordinators: one at the Public Works yard and one at the Williams Lake Regional Airport
• Five foremen: parks streets, water, airport and mechanical
• Fifty employees depending on the time of year
• Overseeing new projects
• Airport
• Ten parks
• Streets
• Water and Sewer
• Buildings (City Hall, Arts Building, Fire Hall, City Works Yard and Tourism Discover Centre)
• Fleet (229 pieces of equipment in the fleet, plus small equipment, pick-up trucks, loaders and dump trucks)
• Electrical
• Solid waste
• BC Transit

3.) Name one or more things you enjoy most or look forward to about your job?

I enjoy working with the people and the day-to-day interactions with the public.

4.) What is one piece of advice or tip you would give to those seeking employment with the City?

One piece of advice I would give someone is to investigate what you want to do for the City and try to get some qualifications or training for the job. For example, if you want to work outside go get your airbrakes ticket for running equipment. If you want to work inside as a clerk go to Thompson Rivers University and take some courses.

You have to start at the bottom, you could say, but if you work hard and do your job you can always move up to another department if you are qualified.