Let’s Talk - Professionalism at City Hall (Or Lack Thereof)

I have seen far too much unprofessionalism around the horseshoe and in committee meetings. It starts with addressing others by their first name instead of their title and /or surname. This might be fine in informal situations or worksites but not when one is at a government meeting.

Formal meetings are just that, formal. There is no place for using a person’s first name when a meeting is on the record. We might be friendly with the people that we work with but that does not mean we use their first name when working in an official capacity especially when it is being recorded. 

By switching to a more formal style, our brain immediately shifts into a professional mode.

For accuracy in the record, titles and surnames should always be used. Council meetings are posted on Youtube, you can follow along with the transcript. However, when titles and surnames are not used, it makes it difficult to know who they are talking to or about, especially when the person is not on camera.

You never see anybody use first names when court is in session.

You never see anybody use first names when sitting in the legislature.

Using a first name denotes a familiarity that may not exist, it is also used at times to demean a subordinate. Depending on the situation, when a first name is used by a person in a position of power, it gives the impression that the other person is beneath them.

No Unnecessary Use of Electronics During Meetings

Again, I have seen far too much of this. Here is City Manager Ann Mitchell’s computer at the January 6 2025 council meeting at 7:03pm, a mere 33 minutes after the meeting had started; she was on her Linked In page. It's pretty obvious this was not in regards to city business.

City Manager Ann Mitchell on her Linked In page during the January 6 2025 City Council meeting

The photos below are from the Jan 20 2025 City Council meeting at different times within 35 minutes. This is not a one-off. I have dozens more photos from other council and committee meetings - at times she is using two phones. I've watched council meetings from another town where she was their CAO, she did the same thing.

There's no reason for our city manager to be on her phone during meetings; it is rude and unprofessional. Administration can create a procedure for contacting those sitting at the horseshoe in case of an emergency. If the city cannot run for a few hours without the City Manager's direct input then I believe they're either lousy at their job or they're micromanaging.

I've seen people in council chambers message others, I suspect some of the others were at the horseshoe. Unless we FOIP that information, we will never know.

Professional Use of City Communication Channels

I received a FOIP where it shows that city staff was using official communications channels to gossip about members of the public, they were even monitoring the 2021 candidate campaigns (I got my very own category).

Notice how Craig Elder's name came up. They could have just said "the Civic Election 2021 Group but apparently including his name seemed important.

NB - I used the term "The Old Guard", not "The Old Boys Club".

Other e-mail communications discussed the censorship of council candidates. Again, I was mentioned by name. Administration is required to be politically neutral.

Communication with Members of the Public

When the public sends in an e-mail they expect an answer, even if it is just an auto-reply. It should not matter who sends in the message they are entitled to an answer.

When staff and council members are allowed to blow off members of the public just because they do not want to answer the question, that is very concerning. By the way, I did not receive an answer.

After the Administrative and Legislative Review Committee on Sept 9th, as usual, I asked questions.

Allard Can someone tell me why this remuneration policy wasn't addressed in the third year of the council term as required by bylaw?

McGrogan Well, this is where it came in.

Allard Okay well, it's not supposed to be done right before an election, because if you vote against the raise, then it looks like you're looking for votes.

McGrogan Yeah.

I then asked Councillors McGrogan, Knodel and Dumanowski if they had received my email about the candidate campaign links, the answer was yes.

I asked that question because I did not know if it had been received or if it went into a spam folder. I find it concerning that they did not even have an auto-reply. The email was sent on a Saturday, I fully expected to get auto-replies. The only auto-reply I received was from the City Clerk’s office.

I took the opportunity to ask the City Clerk in person about why my appointment was cancelled unilaterally because she had refused to respond to me earlier. During the entire exchange she did not look me in the eye, her head was down.

Allard City Clerk, could you please tell me why my appointment was cancelled?

City Clerk When you wished to see Andres?

(referring to Andres Cardona Arias, Chief Electoral Officer)

Allard Yes.

City Clerk There was a submission by a community member, and it was addressed, and administration is seeking remedy further.

Allard Well, I still have more questions, and you cancelled my appointment unilaterally.

City Clerk So the situation was dealt with at the time.

Allard It wasn't dealt with to my satisfaction. I am a resident. I am a council candidate. I deserve the respect of being heard.

At which point Committee Chair Councillor Andy McGrogan said

McGrogan We're adjourned right now, Kelly, so I don't know what to say.

Allard Okay, well, the public is allowed to attend these meetings.They're allowed to ask questions, right?

McGrogan No, but the meeting's adjourned, so the meeting's over.

Allard Can I ask questions during a meeting then?

McGrogan (silence)

Residents Need More Councillor Contact Info

Only 4 council members have a phone number listed. We know that each council member receives a city phone for business use. 

Why are these numbers not published?

I have sent messages to council members and get nothing but silence in return. Nobody is talking to me. They seem to get offended by my questions and believe they have the right to refuse to answer. Councillor Sharps has even blocked my campaign page and Community TV on Facebook. Sharps is the only council member to have taken this step.

(I can still see Sharps from my personal FB account but that account may have been suspended when she did the blocking. My personal account was suspended 3 times since August 14 for 16/33 days. I don't know why, I've never been suspended beore. The only logical explanation is that my personal account was attacked by unknown people.)

This seems to be a toxic pattern with both council members and administration - when someone does not want to answer questions they just ignore it or they block the questioner. It's not a good look, either for an organization that claims to be transparent or for someone seeking re-election.