It seems like there’s been one problem after another at Westlock County since the current council was elected in October 2013, and ultimately it’s residents who will have to hold the decision-makers responsible.
This week’s news that the employees’ union will file a formal complaint in relation to CAO Peter Kelly’s severance offer to all permanent employees is just another episode in this ongoing story.
The offer itself is troubling for many reasons even before taking this into account. The matter was approved behind closed doors, but council made no formal motion authorizing the potential six- or seven-figure expenditure. There is seemingly no plan in place in the event a significant number of employees did choose to take the offer. And worse, no matter how you try to frame it, many will have seen the offer as a kind of ultimatum — certainly not good for the morale of the people providing services to the residents.
Learning now that CUPE is alleging this offer was made in apparent violation of a collective-bargaining agreement signed just one month ago, is the icing on the cake. Whether the complaint is accepted and some sort of compensation offered is somewhat beside the point — this process will undoubtedly cost some more money in legal fees and may well further erode the already low morale.
It’s true that you can’t blame county council for everything that has gone wrong. A council must rely on advice from their CAO when making big decisions, and there have been three different CAOs at the county in the past year.
The most recent hire has extensive municipal governance experience having served as an elected official for more than two decades, but next to no experience in municipal administration. That alone makes council’s choice to hire him fairly perplexing, even putting aside Kelly’s involvement in past financial indiscretion that council seemed to have been unaware of when they hired him.
The fact his actions have now put him at odds with the employees’ union within his first month on the job is unfortunate, and perhaps speaks to his qualifications for the position.
The whole fiasco raises questions about the future of Kelly and council as a whole. They have made their bed and for better or worse, they will have to lie in it.
