It’s about time. Despite some petty procedural wrangling on Monday afternoon, city council ultimately did the right thing in moving forward with a request to Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee to conduct an inspection.
The inspection’s scope is a wide one. The ministry will be asked to look into the governance of the City of St. Albert. Hopefully this inspection will give closure on several fronts no matter what the result.
Calls for some kind of inspection were initially triggered by the hiring of then-sitting city councillor Gilles Prefontaine to a top city management job last spring. While the scope of the inspection will presumably cover a variety of issues, hopefully the process and findings will bring closure to the Prefontaine episode. For the average citizen, it will hopefully lift the veil on a decision that still seems astonishing to many.
For city staff, they’ll be able to have confidence that the right process was followed – or not – and move on.
And perhaps council will at last be able to let this go and move forward, instead of continuing to dwell on the past.
Even former city manager Patrick Draper said in March that he would welcome an inquiry into the hiring process.
“I have no qualms or reservations about the process I used,” Draper told council on March 21.
Draper is no longer with the city, but the questions remain.
The performance of council on Monday certainly points to the need for an inspection. Accusations flew between councillors about everything from staff fears to violations of council’s code of conduct.
Coun. Wes Brodhead likely channelled the sentiments of many frustrated voters when he said that he can’t see a path forward for council without resorting to an outside review.
Dysfunction was particularly on display when council had to resort to voting on which of two similar motions should go first. Coun. Cathy Heron and Coun. Bob Russell both jockeyed to get their motion first. What does it matter who’s on first and what goes second when the majority of council agrees that it’s the right move? This is petty posturing and an utter waste of time.
The results of the inspection could shake the foundation of council and help shape the next election. Mayor Nolan Crouse pointed out that if the report comes back before the next election, the impact on the campaign and the ballot box could be fascinating. We suspect that past performances of council will make for an interesting municipal election next year, regardless of the inspection's outcome.
Council may have been hoping that the removal of Draper would magically put an end to the dysfunction that has defined it over the past two-and-a-half years. As the old saying goes, however, leopards don't change their spots. Council has about one-and-a-half years to prove otherwise.
