Restoring Power to Council
I have been mulling over what I said about restoring power to Council. After a conversation I had with someone recently, I realized that Council cannot always be relied on to make the best decisions.
Justice Nation said in her Judicial Review decision last year that the council members who determined the sanctions “appear to have no sense of proportionality in crafting sanctions and have imposed sanctions that have no rational connection with the breach of the Code.”
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Think about that again.
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A Judge says this council appears “to have no sense of proportionality in crafting sanctions and have imposed sanctions that have no rational connection with the breach of the Code.”
That is damning.
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Perhaps restoring all power to Council is not the answer.
How then to restore trust in City Hall when you have had
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A Municipal Inspection Report (MIR) that found that the City was being run in an Improper, Irregular and Improvident manner.
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a top administrator who has proven to be willing to bypass bylaws
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a top administrator refuse to provide information to council because they are concerned about the misuse (pg 42 of the MIR)
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an administration that did their best to block FOIP requests (Freedom Of Information and Protection of Privacy)
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An administration that proved willing in 2021 to alter the Conflict of Interest Clause in an RFP to allow current employees to bid
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a council "whose members appear to have no sense of proportionality in crafting sanctions and have imposed sanctions that have no rational connection with the breach of the Code". (paragraph 69, pg 10)
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council members who are willing to speak ill of each other to the media
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a former mayor telling the media that this council a “train wreck”
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a former mayor and a former councillor telling the media that the current mayor should resign
Yes, City Manager Ann Mitchell is now on a paid “leave of absence” but that does not mean the problem is solved. This toxic culture predated this Council as evidenced by a former mayor and a former council member trashing this mayor and council in the media. They could have chosen to rise to the occasion and offer their assistance but their bitterness at being unceremoniously ousted by the residents of Medicine Hat is all too evident. (And women are considered to be too emotional.)
When the top administrator (City Manager) is allowed to make up the rules as to what information Council is entitled to and what they are not entitled to, then the City Manager becomes the gatekeeper. The practice of Knowledge Hoarding does not make for a healthy organization. Right now it seems that when a council member asks a question of administration, they feel the need to apologize for even asking the question.
That is Unhealthy
I’m of the mind that there is no such thing as a stupid question. I’m usually asking because I lack knowledge, not because I’m trying to trap someone.
Council members might have great intentions to make things better but they cannot fix what they do not know about. When the top administrator refuses to share information, that has the effect of stopping progress and chilling discussion.
What to Do Next
I believe that policies should be put in place to reduce conflict between Council and Administration. The public expected that Council and Administration would act in a reasonable manner and they have been very disappointed. We have avoided putting policies in place because we were so trusting. We need to change how we do business.
My Suggestions (in No Particular Order)
NB - my suggestions are not meant to indicate that things must be done exactly as I have laid out. I don't know everything and if someone has a better idea that accomplishes the same goal, that's fine by me.
1 Create policies that define exactly what information the Council is entitled to by right. No administrator should be able to block this information; it should be in a place where it can be accessed easily on demand. This will reduce conflict and free up employees to do something else.
2 Make FOIPable information available to everyone on the website. This will decrease the FOIP requests if people can easily find the information they are seeking. Again, it will free employees up to do other things. The City has spent a ridiculous amount of time and money avoiding fulfilling FOIP requests. When administration tries to block information, it raises suspicion and mistrust. We don't stop asking, we just dig deeper.
3 The Council Code of Conduct was weaponized by this Council to the point where the Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver rescinded the Code of Conduct provision in the MGA (Municipal Government Act). When McIver was asked about the weaponization, he told the media to “Google Medicine Hat”.
The province is going to bring in their own Code of Conduct which will be binding on all communities, all because Medicine Hat City Council weaponized this tool. (By the way, the mayor was proven to be right about her concerns with City Manager Mitchell bypassing bylaws.) If the provincial Code of Conduct regulations do not include how to apply the sanctions, then it should be spelled out. Our mayor was given the most extreme sanctions for a 2-½ minute exchange in a public forum. Imagine if the mayor had grabbed someone’s ass, punched someone or was convicted of a crime? How would you justify imposing the same sanctions? The punishment must fit the crime.
4 Employee Morale Surveys - These should be done on a regular basis. Council is entitled to employee morale survey reports. In 2022 a former interim City Manager was reluctant to give Council this information for fear it would create “hard feelings” and that staff would feel attacked. That in itself is a barrier to positive change.
Pushback From Administration Article 1
Pushback From Administration Article 2
5 Committee meetings have OILs (Outstanding Items List), Council should have the same. There have been too many times that administration has failed to bring back requested info to Council by a scheduled date. Mistakes happen, memories fail. This is why it is important to have proper processes in place. When Council requests information to come back to Council, it should be placed on a central calendar shared with Council. Administration can see at a glance what needs to be done and by when, council can be prepared to deal with the information so things are not put off until another meeting.
Council also needs to be cognizant of their reasons for requesting information. As the MIR said, Council does not necessarily need ALL of the information to make a decision, they need ENOUGH information. If the new information will not change the decision, then it is not needed.