The walking dead and the CAO
You have to hand it to Niagara’s regional councillors. If they are anything, they’re consistent.
You know. In the same way Wile E. Coyote was consistent.
You may recall the Region’s top bureaucrat chief administrative officer Harry Schlange is on his way out. He quit his post to take the CAO job in the troubled municipality of Brampton.
Schlange’s departure has left a cloud hanging over the council. His resignation letter, which became public, was pointedly critical of it.
Schlange believed the Region was making progress on important fronts for a time. However, he wrote, this work was undermined “by actions and behaviours at the leadership level that run contrary to these efforts and inhibit my ability to continue to deliver on the commitments I have made to you.”
Unless council’s leadership changes direction, he wrote, “this situation will lead to an organization where silos are reinforced, processes are more important than results and credibility for our organization declines.”
To date, council and its leading members, notably Chairman Alan Caslin, have declined to comment on Schlange’s letter.
At this point, council’s silence is completely inexcusable.
The optics of Schlange’s departure are lousy, and council’s refusal to address his criticisms in a public forum wounds Niagara’s ability to attract tal- ented people.
Both the voting public in Niagara and potential CAOs elsewhere need to have some confidence that council takes Schlange’s opinions seriously and is doing something to address them.
( Caslin had that opportunity at his state of the region address, but chose to avoid the issue entirely.)
If councillors believe Schlange’s concerns are without merit, they need to explain as much to the public.
As it happens, there is an upcoming opportunity to meet these issues head on and help restore some confidence in local politics.
But like the characters of The Walking Dead, who consistently choose the absolute worst option available, they are going to do the opposite of that.
Schlange was scheduled to address council in closed session when he resigned, but that council meeting got bogged down in a long and unproductive debate over an inane request from Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority for political support to transplant wetlands in Niagara Falls. He did not get the opportunity to speak.
On Thursday, council voted to allow Schlange to address them in a sort of exit interview May 19. They also voted to hold this session in secret.
The official excuse is that this is a personnel matter and therefore not open to public discussion.
This reason might hold some water if Schlange’s resignation letter wasn’t already a matter of public record.
No matter how much some councillors might wish it, the genie cannot be put back in the bottle. Holding a closed-door meeting will only further entrench the idea that there’s something rotten in the halls of Schmon Parkway.
I am going to say something here, and you may want to sit down for a moment before I do. You’ve been warned. On this issue, St. Catharines councillor Andy Petrowski is right.
I know, I know. I actually feel a little icky writing that, but facts are facts.
At this point in his political career, Petrowski is essentially a walking, talking Internet comment section. But when he calls this secret meeting a disservice to Niagara residents, he is absolutely on the money.
During Thursday’s council meeting, he questioned the need for an exit interview with Schlange, but suggested if it was going to be done, it should be done in public.
How else, he said, would the public know what made Schlange so unhappy with his station that he decided to move elsewhere?
He might also have pointed out Niagara citizens won’t know how council will respond to those concerns, and any potential replacement CAO will cast a wary eye upon the region.
Yes, this exit interview will be tense and possibly embarrassing for some.
But we already know of the longstanding tensions between Caslin and Schlange, so the potential for those grievances being aired is no reason to hide behind closed doors.
This iteration of regional council has often behaved as though it has an acute allergy to transparency and accountability. This behaviour has deeply wounded council’s credibility with the people it serves.
These councillors now have an opportunity, perhaps the last one for a long time to come, to prove to citizens that accountability is not just a buzzword but a political perspective they believe in.
Regional council must reverse course and make the meeting with Schlange open to the public.
Failure to do so will say more about them than anything else they have done to date. glafleche@postmedia.ca Twitter: @grantrants