City manager Ann Mitchell has been placed on temporary paid leave after council passed a motion during a Special Meeting Monday morning. Mitchell is the seventh individual to hold the role of CAO in some capacity during council's 2021-2025 term.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Chief Administrative Officer Ann Mitchell has been placed on temporary paid leave of absence following a motion that passed unanimously during a closed Special Council Meeting on Monday morning.
During Mitchell’s absence all her duties, powers and functions will be handled by city clerk Tarolyn Aaserud.
Last Friday, council held a separate closed special meeting to discuss a personnel matter. Monday’s meeting was a follow-up after legal advice was provided over the weekend.
Additionally, council voted to authorize the mayor, deputy mayor and acting mayor to retain and instruct an investigator to provide a report to council.
A dispute between Mayor Linnsie Clark and Mitchell began in August 2023 and led to a council decision to sanction Clark from her duties, prompting her to request a judicial review. Those sanctions were dropped following a judge’s decision, but a breach of code of conduct by the mayor was upheld.
In July 2024 the province stepped in when then minister of municipalities Ric McIver met with council to relay concerns about the management, administration and operations of the city, and requested a municipal inspection, the largest-by-population municipal inspection ever needed in the province.
Last week, council and city staff received the findings of that municipal inspection, which includes 68 recommendations and found the city was being managed in an irregular, improper and improvident manner.
The report found that the city’s revolving door of CAOs during recent years was “bound to reduce the stability of the organization and alter the culture for the worse.”
The municipal inspection, authored by Ian McCormack, president of Strategic Steps Inc. (third-party inspector) lists seven individuals to hold the role since 2021 in either an acting, interim or permanent role.
According to the municipal inspection report, more than one of the CAOs was said to have been ushered out involuntarily, even though that person officially resigned.
Mitchell has held the position the longest, serving since February 2023 after being appointed to the role in a unanimous vote taken by council in December 2022.
“Through the course of the inspection, there were polarizing comments made about the current city manager,” reads the inspection report. “While many individuals lauded her leadership ability and her focus, there were also comments provided to the Inspector both verbally and in writing, about a ‘culture of fear’ that some staff apparently have of the city’s management, and of the CAO (Mitchell) in particular.”
During the inspection, which included 25 interviews with elected officials, senior managers and staff members, McMormack asked Mitchell for a response to these types of comments that came from other staff.
“The fact that several interviewees and individuals who sent emails to the dedicated Inspection account, used the word ‘fear’ or ‘culture of fear’ is troublesome,” reads the report.
Mitchell said, “I was hired to be a change-maker. When you do that, there will always be detractors. In my seat, you have to make those decisions.”
However, the report also found that ‘fear’ has been a common sentiment expressed throughout the inspection, and on the elected side, one member of council said “(Mayor Clark) leads from a place of fear rather than a place of courage.”
One of the report’s 68 recommendations is to implement culture change initiatives and programs that are identified in the “2025 Barrett Values Culture Assessment Results and Recommendations.”
The report also recommends that council repeal its current Administrative Organization Bylaw (4662) and replace it with a more standard CAO bylaw that focuses entirely on the role of the city manager.
“The AO Bylaw has been at the centre of much concern in Medicine Hat in recent years because some of the authorities that city council has kept for itself,” reads the report.
The AO Bylaw outlines the responsibilities for five groups within the administration that includes council, city manager, managing directors, city clerk and city solicitor. However, most municipalities have split these groups into two, with different bylaws applying to each.
These bylaws include a CAO Bylaw and a Designated Officer Bylaw and better define the roles of the city manager apart from managing directors, city clerk and the city solicitor.
The report recommends that council spot a Designated Officer Bylaw that encompasses all high-level responsibilities for all designated officers as identified under the Municipal Government Act.
More so, the report also recommends that any new bylaws adopted by council recognize that organizational structure falls within the authority of the city manager.
At this time the city will not be providing additional information. “Council requests respect for the process and the need for procedural fairness and confidentiality.”
Coun. Ramona Robins was not present for the meeting and did not vote on the motion.
The full Municipal Inspection Report can be found online by visiting the City of Medicine Hat’s homepage.
