Bowman open to cooling-off period for civil servants

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This article was published 05/02/2018 (2794 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg has had a string of civil servants leave their posts recently, raising the question as to whether they should have a cooling-off period in which contact is limited with city hall, similar to other levels of government.

Daryl Doubleday was the most recent departure. The former solid waste manager in the water and waste department, who joined the public service in 2015, left to pursue another career opportunity at the end of January.

Randy Park replaced Doubleday as interim acting manager and a recruitment process is underway to find a permanent manager.

Luis Escobar, the city’s former transportation manager, resigned at the end of October and now works for Stantec. He represented his new workplace as a delegate at a public works committee meeting last week.

Mayor Brian Bowman introduced a motion last fall that called for the province to impose a one-year cooling-off period for councillors and mayors who leave city hall, restricting them from certain employment and lobbying. The motion is under review.

Asked whether he would consider a similar motion for civil servants, Bowman said he’s open to the idea.

“I’ve been very focused on… ensuring that elected officials are acting in a way that is appropriate for Winnipeggers, both during and, in the case of cooling off, after serving in elected office,” Bowman said, noting his efforts to support a lobbyist registry and to create the role of integrity commissioner as examples of work done to reform city hall.

“I’m certainly open to ideas and discussion with regards to a cooling-off period also applying to members of the public service,” he said. “It isn’t what we’re considering at this stage, but if my council colleagues feel otherwise, I’m going to be open to that.”

Aaron Moore, an associate professor of civic politics at the University of Winnipeg, said it would be wise to consider a cooling-off period for civic workers, who are knowledgeable about the inner workings of departments and can use that experience to their benefit.

“Certainly at the federal and provincial levels, and in some large municipalities, there is a cooling-off period (for civil servants),” Moore said. “You don’t want the possibility for conflict of interest or even perceived conflict of interest.”

There were three high-profile exits from the public works department near the end of 2017, including Escobar’s.

Scott Suderman, a transportation facility manager and lead engineer on the south Charleswood corridor project, gave his notice after being publicly criticized by Coun. Marty Morantz and city chief administrative officer Doug McNeil for his handling of the corridor proposal. He left at the end of November.

Stephen Chapman, a traffic management engineer who was the lead on the Portage Avenue and Main Street intersection-reopening project, left at the end of December.

Moore said he wouldn’t read much into the string of departures, pointing to the fact that a cash-strapped city can’t always pay its administrators as much as the private sector.

At least five roles in the public service are currently being filled by an acting manager, director or assistant, according to organizational charts posted on the city’s website.

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @_jessbu