Winds of change sweeping through city hall

The Don Atchison era likely came to an end for most when Saskatoon’s longestserving mayor was dealt a defeat by Charlie Clark in the 2016 election.

But it came to an even more resounding conclusion earlier this month when city manager Murray Totland announced he is leaving city hall at the end of the year — before his lucrative contract expires.

If, at the start of 2016, you had been asked to name the three most crucial city hall employees, you could have reasonably named Totland, police Chief Clive Weighill and former director of planning and development Alan Wallace.

By the time the calendar turns to 2018, all three will be gone, just over a year into the mandate of the city council elected in October 2016.

Saskatoon city hall and the police service are full of smart and capable people, but Totland, Weighill and Wallace stood out, especially to a journalist, because all three were great communicators.

For better or for worse, the three were among city hall’s most recognizable names. Totland and Weighill were among the best paid too, with 2016 incomes of $305,985 and $266,769, respectively.

All three proved to be key figures of the Atchison era. Weighill and Atchison teamed up to resurrect the tattered reputation of the police force. Totland and Wallace helped guide the city through an era of unprecedented growth.

Wallace only occupied the office of director of planning for four years, but it seemed like he’d been there forever after 32 years with the city. Wallace’s replacement, Lesley Anderson, lacks his persuasive communication skills.

Weighill was hired in 2006 by a board of police commissioners chaired by Atchison. Atchison got elected as a law-and-order mayor, so if Weighill had been a bad hire, it would have greatly tarnished Atchison’s legacy.

Totland was promoted to city manager in 2009. Now the city is searching for replacements for city manager and police chief. Neither is an easy task.

City council fired the first person hired with the title city manager. Totland was just the third, and Weighill’s immediate predecessors were fired (Dave Scott) or did not have their contact renewed (Russ Sabo).

The board of police commissioners is in the midst of its search for a new police chief and city council just approved hiring a headhunting firm to conduct a national search for Totland’s replacement.

Both Totland and his predecessor Phil Richards were promoted from within. The city is also still searching for a replacement for one of its senior managers after Catherine Gryba’s departure in May. Gryba, along with city solicitor Patricia Warwick and city clerk Joanne Sproule, was among the most powerful women at the City of Saskatoon.

Clark insists the departures of Totland and Weighill do not amount to him cleaning house. Both Totland, 60, and Weighill, 63, are close to traditional retirement age and neither likely needs the money.

Interestingly, though, Totland made clear he intends to keep working in some new capacity.

Also worth noting is that the departures come at the same time as fundamental changes to the power structures at city council and the police board.

In 2018, the role of politicians will be reduced on the police board as unelected residents will hold a 4-3 majority.

Earlier this year, council introduced portfolios for each council member to help direct 10 strategic priority areas like core services and business development. Some might view that move as taking power away from the administration and the city manager.

But neither Totland nor Weighill expressed any misgivings about the changes.

Some critics have suggested for years the administration is running the show at Saskatoon city hall and city council is mere decoration, similar to the American right-wing media’s claims the “deep state” is to blame for impeding President Donald Trump.

Clark got elected by promising a more active mayor’s office and council. He’s trying to deliver as much as he can while dealing with a severe budget crunch created by a decline in provincial revenue.

Filling two of the city’s key positions presents a challenge, but also an opportunity.