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CAO fired by Orillia mayor before starting his job 'bewildered' by unexpected termination

OrilliaMatters

49

So now the taxpayers get to pay a settlement for a decision made by an overreaching mayor who directly opposed the results of a comprehensive recruitment process and refused to discuss the decision in a public session of council. Oh yeah, Don REALLY has Orillians best interests in mind (/s) .How about the mayor who used his strong mayoral powers to be responsible for the settlement that will be reached rather than the town?

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BREAKING: McIssac uses new strong mayor powers to cancel hired CAO, appoint staffer

OrilliaMatters

36

@NoMoreHow will this change stop the downward spiral or make it any better than if Trevor Lee was CAO? Mayor McIsaac just wasted the city's money with this change. All the money spent throughout the hiring process is now moot because of a sweeping change made 1 week before the start date.

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Mayor 'has a lot of explaining to do' over firing of CAO: councillor

OrilliaMatters

36

I can't see any way Don can justify that this sudden change in CAO was done in good faith or for the betterment of Orillia. It wasted all time and money spent in the hiring process, left an empty position in the Deputy CAO chair, opened the city up to "Confidential resolution negotiations", and he has refused to provide clear reasoning when asked directly by councilors and now hangs up on journalists when he proudly declared to call his cell phone if you have issues with stuff like this.

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BREAKING: McIssac uses new strong mayor powers to cancel hired CAO, appoint staffer

OrilliaMatters

33

"Mr. Lee’s experience and leadership will help guide the corporation as we continue to advance council’s strategic priorities and deliver services that enhance the quality of life for our residents." - Mayor Don McIsaac quoted in OrilliaMatters a little over 3 weeks ago on March 21st.Why the sudden change...?

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Did mayor blow the lid off CAO firing controversy with 'hypothetical' scenario?

OrilliaMatters

30

"What if you have councillors who've never hired anyone before ... what if councillors rejected a ranking system because they are biased against the more qualified candidate."- I'd ask how the ranking system was developed, and for evidence or justification for the belief of bias against a "more qualified candidate"."What if there was a racial animus introduced by one councillor ... and the city would be guaranteed a trip to the Human Rights Tribunal?"- I'd once again ask for evidence of the comments that were racially animus. The comments would have likely been made in closed chambers, and there should be a record of what was said.- I'd also ask why, if the Mayor hypothetically felt a council member introduced racial animosity, no action was taken at the time - surely such actions would go against the policies and procedures required/expected of Council.It's hypothetical only for protecting yourself from accusatory statements.

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City councillors force special meeting to deal with McIsaac's use of strong mayor powers

OrilliaMatters

24

Every single response he has given has been a non-answer and it's getting very old to hear about a "critical point" for our city's future and the "safety, security, and well-being" of Orillians.And now the Mayor isn't even responding! He hung up on reporters last week, and now the City's manager of communications is responding on his behalf - quite the change from the Mayor who was telling people to call him directly if we don't like his decisions.

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City councillors force special meeting to deal with McIsaac's use of strong mayor powers

OrilliaMatters

24

The mayor has not answered if the Deputy CAO role will remain empty, we had a deputy CAO alongside the CAO before the previous CAO left - we can't assume that the Deputy CAO role is staying empty.The city is also going into confidential negotiations and there is likely going to be financial compensation. For a top-level position with a salary of $267,000 I highly doubt the settlement will be lower than the $175k we're supposedly "saving"

City councillors force special meeting to deal with McIsaac's use of strong mayor powers

OrilliaMatters

20

If they can successfully argue/prove that firing the CAO was not done in good faith that (should) overturn the mayor's immunity and allow direct action to be taken against the Mayor by the city.Hopefully, the Councilors inquire about the Good-Faith requirements under the contract for the CAO and Good-Faith requirements under the mayoral powers.

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City councillors force special meeting to deal with McIsaac's use of strong mayor powers

OrilliaMatters

20

I'm hopeful that the councilors will inquire about the Immunity awarded by the strong mayoral powers, specifically the requirement of an action being done in "Good-Faith". With a contract overturned and a lack of transparency behind the decision, I don't see how the Mayor can justify this was done in "Good-Faith" or maintain immunity from this decision.

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Orillia could get strong mayor powers ... on a permanent basis

OrilliaMatters

17

Hi Duncan!I'm still waiting for you to explain the "math lesson" for how these actions are going to save the city money...Since you said there is a math lesson in all this, right now I'm seeing:Subtract the money spent on the hiring processSubtract the money for onboarding a new deputy CAOSubtract the money that will be spent on confidential negotiationsWhere are the savings?

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'It doesn't fit': Stacked townhome proposal draws ire of neighbour

OrilliaMatters

15

"Given the availability of five visitor parking units, this matter should not create a problem for the neighbourhood" is almost laughable if it weren't so sad to hear coming from the Senior Planner. Pushing for an increase in density while reducing the necessary number of parking spots seems a bit counterintuitive. It's a pretty big assumption to bet that every person/family/renter getting a unit will only have 1 vehicle. Every new proposal seems to be getting lower with the ratio of units to parking spots... Underground parking has been a thing for developments like this for a reason

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Ice storm: City of Orillia ends state of emergency

OrilliaMatters

8

Thank you to all the hydro, telecom, arborist, and other workers who carried on despite the terrible conditions.Thank you to all the councilors and city staff for the volunteer work done to support Orillians throughout this. Thank you to Mayor McIsaac for recognizing the urgency of this situation and returning from your vacation to work likely countless hours ensuring Orillia was supported throughout this ordeal (we gotta recognize the good despite the CAO challenges)

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'Real trouble:' Local snowmobile club forced to navigate costly trail cleanup crisis on its own

OrilliaMatters

12

The Orillia club has 1400 permit-holding members. OFSC Permit Fee looks like it's $214/permit. So, 1400 members paying $214 per permit is $299,600 (at minimum) paid from Orillia Club members, and there is no money available to assist with cleanup?I can see why the club feels like they've been left behind.

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City council up in arms over 'undemocratic' strong mayor powers

OrilliaMatters

10

They can't... The strong mayoral powers grant immunity regardless of the perceived unreasonableness of a decision.

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City council up in arms over 'undemocratic' strong mayor powers

OrilliaMatters

7

What's ridiculous is they went pretty much the exact opposite way! If the decision was made "legally and in good faith" there is no opportunity for our ELECTED OFFICIALS to challenge the action. I think "in good faith" leaves a little room for interpretation but it would be difficult to prove something wasn't done in good faith...Immunity226.12 A decision made, or a veto power or other power exercised, legally and in good faith under this part shall not be quashed or open to review in whole or in part by any court because of the unreasonableness or supposed unreasonableness of the decision or exercise of the veto power or other power.

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What priorities should Orillia OPP tackle in your neighbourhood?

OrilliaMatters

7

When the new detachment on University Ave was underway we were told...“We’ll still be present. Our model of policing is a community-based model. There will be no changes to services,” she said, noting that includes foot and bicycle patrols downtown. (Provincial Cmdr. Mary Silverthorn, of OPP corporate services)I can only remember a handful of times seeing foot/bicycle patrols downtown, mostly by the waterfront and note in the core. Regular patrolling officers could help deter various problems impacting the downtown area.

City councillors force special meeting to deal with McIsaac's use of strong mayor powers

OrilliaMatters

5

Steve, the City has stated they're in confidential negotiations with Trevor Lee - it is public knowledge and has been mentioned in news articles about this. It has cost the city money already, all the working hours spent throughout the hiring process are now gone for nothing.Again, the Mayor did not say if the Deputy CAO role is staying empty. We've had a Deputy CAO alongside the CAO before so that is a heavy assumption that the role will stay empty. As you said, there is a deputy CAO for a reason so why would they suddenly leave that position empty? Also filling the role of Deputy CAO will also cost time and money.

Lack of green-bin use has Simcoe County councillors seeing red

OrilliaMatters

2

We adopted clear bags in Orillia for diverting recycling and green bin materials. If it's bad it may be time to seriously enforce the 10% rule for recycling and compostables in garbage and leaving a notice

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Mayor 'has a lot of explaining to do' over firing of CAO: councillor

OrilliaMatters

3

Welcome back Duncan! Perhaps you could share your math lesson with the class?Currently we're looking at:Subtract the money spent on the hiring processSubtract the money for onboarding a new deputy CAOSubtract the money that will be spent on confidential negotiationsHow will the city end up saving money from this?

Oro-Medonte couple powers through adversity to feed hydro workers

OrilliaMatters

2

I know who's at the top of the list when I need catering next!Amazing to see the support, I'm sure the hydro workers were appreciative.