No tossing CAO for now

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Phil Sheegl

Calls to dismiss Winnipeg's chief administrative officer are likely to go unheeded because council's most powerful committee has no desire to do so.

Over the past six weeks, three city councillors -- Russ Wyatt (Transcona), Ross Eadie (Mynarski) and Harvey Smith (Daniel McIntyre) -- have called for Phil Sheegl to step down as the city's CAO or be dismissed over issues such as the oversight of Winnipeg's fire-paramedic station replacement program, two exchanges of an Arizona shell company with Mayor Sam Katz and aborted city plans that include the sale of golf courses and the construction of a downtown water park.

According to the City of Winnipeg Charter, the responsibility for hiring or firing the CAO -- one of four statutory officers -- rests with city council. But the charter also states executive policy committee must recommend such a move to city council. It is also EPC's responsibility to supervise the CAO.

Wyatt, who called on Sheegl to resign or face dismissal on Monday, is alone among EPC members in calling for the CAO's head.

Three other committee members -- Dan Vandal (St. Boniface), Scott Fielding (St. James) and Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) -- said they will wait for the results of the pending review of the fire-paramedic construction project and a broader audit of major city real estate transactions before they draw any conclusions.

The review will begin in November and is expected to take months. The audit will begin in December and could take more than a year to complete.

"I see where Russ is coming from, but I want to see what the external auditor has to say," said Fielding, who complained of "major screw-ups" on a variety of files.

"It would be hypocritical for us to dismiss anyone for not following process while an audit process is underway," Browaty added. Coun. Paula Havixbeck (Charleswood-Tuxedo), meanwhile, said she believes city council may not be able to fire the CAO because there's no system in place at city hall to hold any senior official accountable for how well they perform their duties.

"It's not clear what's expected of people," said Havixbeck, who has crossed swords with the CAO. "I think we've seen a number of things mishandled: fire halls, water park, garbage and recycling. He's the top person. That said, I'm not certain you can dismiss somebody like that."

The other two EPC members -- Katz and Justin Swandel (St. Norbert) -- have not commented on the CAO's performance and are likely to resist any effort to remove Sheegl. The CAO has declined to comment.

Outside of EPC, Eadie described Sheegl as incompetent for selling and reacquiring the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based shell company Duddy Enterprises in a pair of transactions with Katz. Civil servants should know better than to conduct business with the mayor, Eadie said.

Smith said he has never considered Sheegl qualified to manage the civil service. Smith and Eadie voted alongside Wyatt, Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge) and John Orlikow (River Heights) in opposing Sheegl's appointment in 2011.

Some non-EPC councillors who voted for the appointment are having second thoughts. Mike Pagtakhan (Point Douglas) said he is not certain whether public confidence in city hall can be restored while the current CAO remains.

"It might be time for him to move on," Pagtakhan said. "If a sports team has lost confidence in their leadership, they fire the coach."

But other non-EPC councillors, such as rookie Brian Mayes (St. Vital), said they will wait for the results of the review and audit.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

Coming up at council

On tap for the October meeting of city council, which begins at 9:30 a.m. (Shaw Cable broadcast, live tweets at winnipegfreepress.com):

Free parking for veterans: Unanimous approval is expected for Mayor Sam Katz's plan to offer 20 hours a year of free street parking to military veterans.

Jubilee station: Council is expected to pass a plan to cost-share the $3-million construction of a new Southwest Transitway station with Gem Equities, the developer of a new housing project in the Fort Rouge Yards.

Leaf collection: Couns. Paula Havixbeck (Charleswood) and Brian Mayes (St. Vital) are planning a motion to direct water and waste to collect leaves on a weekly basis, instead of biweekly, until the snow falls.

Garbage and recycling: Couns. Harvey Smith (Daniel McIntyre) and Ross Eadie (Mynarski) plan to introduce a motion for the city to reverse the contracting out of waste collection and once again do it in-house. The motion will automatically wind up at the Oct. 30 public works committee.

Urban poultry farming: Couns. Smith and Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge) plan to introduce a motion asking the city to once again consider allowing Winnipeggers to raise egg-laying hens. This will wind up at the Oct. 29 protection and community services committee.

Corydon plan: Councillors are poised to approve up to $100,000 in funding to create a new planning framework for the Corydon-Osborne area. Council's property committee voted earlier this year to scuttle a previous plan derided by businesses in the area.

-- Kives

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 24, 2012 B1