Another drama at city hall has come to a head.
Steve Stone spoke to council’s committee of the whole meeting Monday presenting investigative work he and two other citizens had done into the hiring of former councillor Gilles Prefontaine as chief community development officer. The damning 48-page document raises some valid questions on how Prefontaine was hired, despite lacking prescribed qualifications.
When Prefontaine was hired a year ago, the optics were heavily criticized and rightly so. Few believed his position as councillor did not influence the decision. As a result, council passed a motion to restrict councillors from obtaining employment with the city while serving on council and for a year after leaving office. Clearly council recognized how bad the optics were.
Prefontaine’s hiring also resulted in heavy scrutiny of the planning and engineering department that was previously headed by an engineer. Since Prefontaine took the helm, nine senior positions in the department have turned over. While there could be many explanations for a higher-than-normal turnover rate, questions that they may be related to Prefontaine’s qualifications are reasonable.
While Prefontaine holds a master’s degree in business administration, he does not have bachelor’s degree, though he studied economics at the University of Alberta. A bachelor’s degree was listed as a must have in the job posting for Prefontaine’s position, yet he was able to obtain the job without one. Normally a bachelor’s degree is a prerequisite to a master’s degree. Prefontaine was able to earn his master’s through a nine-course online program via Heriot Watt University’s Edinburgh Business School. With other candidates listing qualifications such as master’s in civil engineering and bachelor’s in urban planning, the city has a right to know what made Prefontaine the best candidate.
It is time for the city to start answering those hard questions. Unfortunately when the Gazette called earlier this week, the lines of communication were deflected to Mayor Nolan Crouse, whose answers were completely inadequate.
It’s incomprehensible that the mayor claims he knows nothing about Prefontaine’s education levels, when Stone’s report – which was delivered to all of council – clearly states them. The mayor should not be acting as the public relations shield for city manager Patrick Draper on this issue either. When Prefontaine was hired, Crouse washed his hands of the matter, saying he was not involved in the hiring and was surprised by it. If that was truly the case, he should not be the point man now.
After Stone finished his presentation, Draper called for a five-minute adjournment, presumably to discuss the matter. We imagine it was to ask why Coun. Cam MacKay, chair of the meeting, allowed Stone’s comments to continue when council rules of conduct clearly state that personnel matters must be discussed in camera. Regardless of the merit of Stone’s presentation, it is unconscionable that MacKay did not put a stop to the personal attacks and had him stick to the facts.
The citizens of St. Albert deserve full disclosure. If the Prefontaine hiring was above board, Draper now needs to explain how. If he refuses to do so, we can only assume the claims of cronyism may be warranted and Municipal Affairs needs to step in and put this matter to rest. If council fails to call for that review itself, then the public needs to get to work on a petition that will force it.
