Medicine Hat council headed to workplace training, 3 weeks before election

Yahoo

18 hours ago

Elected officials in Medicine Hat may have no choice but to take "respectful workplace training" next month, even though their tumultuous term of office is drawing to a close.
That was ordered by Alberta Municipal Affairs after an inspection of city hall spelled out a contentious relationship between the mayor, the group of eight councillors and top staff.
Most councillors express support for taking the training by an Oct. 1 deadline, though some questioned the value considering an election is set for Oct. 20.
Mayor Linnsie Clark said at Monday's council meeting that so close to an election, the money may be better spent on training for the new council.
"It's very valuable, however, (there is) the cost-benefit analysis of doing it with the hopes of having a few weeks at the end of a term to implement it."
"I think it's setting the next council up better to have it occur at the beginning of the next (term)."
Discussions on Monday left the timeline in place to schedule and complete the training by Oct. 1, less than three weeks before the end of the term.
So far only one member of nine members of council have said they will run for re-election — Coun. Andy McGrogan, who is running for mayor.
"The recommendations are for us, not for the next (council) group," said Coun. Allison Knodel.
"(The inspection) will affect the next group… the things that are more behaviour based should be prioritized."
Ministry finds hostile work environment: report
The inspection, ordered by the Alberta Municipal Affairs at the request of council in late 2024, found that city hall had generally served residents well, but governance and decision making was hampered by internal conflicts.
Public distrust had grown due to a "somewhat hostile environment."
"Tensions between the city manager, the mayor, and some other members of council have created an untenable working environment that is distrustful and guarded," it concluded.
Issues became public two years ago during an exchange between Clark and city manager Ann Mitchell. The mayor was later sanctioned, but that was reversed by a judicial review.
The inspection gave 68 recommendations to improve processes, update bylaws and change job titles, but separately ordered that all elected officials and top staff take an approved workplace training course.
Acting city manager Tarolyn Aaserud said a work plan to address the administrative matters is now being drawn up, but some remedies will take longer to implement.
The plan must be approved piece by piece by council at a special meeting, likely in late September, then approved by the province.
The training requirement could be delayed, but only through a formal request to the ministry, she said.
That isn't likely to be granted, a spokesperson for Alberta Municipal Affairs told CBC News on Tuesday.
"Strong, effective local government starts with city officials understanding their roles, working together with respect and making decisions that meet the needs of the community," wrote ministry spokesperson Kevin Lee, reiterating the deadline. "The directives point to a clear path forward."
City Coun. Robert Dumanowski said the provincial orders are not negotiable, and the city should act on them, not stall.
"I don't want us going into that meeting with our fingers crossed hoping for an extension," he said.
Report lays out long to-do list
Staff said Monday addressing the entire list of actions will take time.
Some are minor items, such as including the year a bylaw is passed to its title, for example, but others may not be complete until 2026.
The city will have to rewrite its entire administrative organizational bylaw, as well as portions of the city budget to spell out how each department's business relates to a strategic plan.
Three relate to code of conduct legislation that was eliminated by the province last spring.