Careless appointment leaves council with egg on face

Feb 20, 2008

Anyone bumping into a Kearney council member this week might feel the urge to offer them a handkerchief to help wipe the egg off their face.

After the one-step-forward-two-steps-back exercise they underwent trying to fill the CAO position, the yolks on the floor may be a bigger walking hazard than the freezing rain that has hit the area.

At a glance, the events that led up to and followed the attempted appointment of councillor Paul Tomlinson to the acting-CAO position could be viewed as humourous. But we know better.

A closer examination, we believe, will reveal that the council is struggling to grip the controls after the unexpected departure of CAO Twyla Nicholson.

Just how Tomlinson received the appointment to the CAO’s position remains unclear, but it obviously was not thought out, researched or vetted.

The section of the Ontario Municipal Act that disallows people from holding municipal office and administrative duties is very clear: “258. (1) The following are not eligible to be elected as a member of a council or to hold office as a member of a council: i. an employee of the municipality . . . iii. a person who is not an employee of the municipality but who holds any administrative position of the municipality.”

Pretty cut and dry.

But, we do not point this out to make light of council’s lack of knowledge of the law. Nowhere in the oath of office does it say that, “Thou shalt know the Municipal Act backward and forward.”

We would wager that the majority of council members throughout the province cannot rhyme off passages of the act at will. Instead they rely on the knowledge staff, consultants and lawyers to base their decisions and guide their processes.

We simply point out that in Nicholson’s absence there appears to be a void in this expertise, the consequences of which can be seen in the resolution scheduled to be rescinded here shortly.

Kearney council needs some sturdy advice to lean on as it goes about getting or keeping its affairs in order. Credentials and experience, not quick fix measures, are needed to address the CAO void.

Council may also want to look at the administration of the township’s affairs. Nicholson carries the title of CAO/clerk/treasurer. That is a lot of responsibility resting on one desk. It’s doubtful the council would be scrambling so much, if at all, were the responsibilities divided up between two or three individuals.

Put another way, they might not have so much egg on their face if they hadn’t put all of their eggs in one basket.