3 Moose Jaw city councillors sanctioned for failing to deal with 'serious personnel matter'
Three Moose Jaw city councillors have been sanctioned by the city for failing to deal with a "serious personnel matter" involving the city's Downtown Facilities and Fieldhouse (DFFH), complexes used for sports and events.
Brian Swanson, Scott McMann and Crystal Froese have all been sanctioned with varying degrees of severity, which "are in accordance with the degree of involvement and responsibility each councillor carried in the matter," the city's mayor said in a news release.
Mayor Fraser Tolmie received a complaint in July about alleged "improper conduct" from the board, consisting of Swanson, McMann and Froese, alleging they did not respond appropriately to the complaints, according to public city documents.
Swanson will no longer receive direct access to confidential reports for the remainder of his term. The reports will be available for review in the city clerk's office, however. Swanson will not hold the position of deputy mayor, chair or vice-chair of any standing committee for this current term.
McMann will not hold the position of deputy mayor, chair or vice-chair of any standing committee and will not be allowed to sit on third-party boards associated with the city until Dec. 31, 2019.
Froese Will not hold the position of deputy mayor, chair or vice-chair of any standing committees, third-party boards or advisory committees until Aug. 31, 2019.
The complaint also contained information from Graham Edge, the former general manager of the DFFH who was fired from the job after less than four months.
Third-party investigation
Edge was hired on Jan. 15 and lost his job May 25. During his short time as the GM, he received complaints from multiple employees which were reported to the board of directors.
"There is either conflicting direction or lack of support from the Board resulting in no clear path being outlined," a city report said about the actions taken after the complaints were received.
Froese sought advice from the city's human resources services department which recommended an external investigation. That advice was not followed and the employees did not receive responses to their complaints.
More than a month later in July, Edge contacted Tolmie through a text message about the complaints going unaddressed.
A third party investigation was undertaken which found that the board "had not exercised the necessary due diligence to ensure a proper investigation had occurred in a timely manner" but they did not consciously suppress the investigation.
Dosenberger also submitted a report to the city solicitor about his findings, the results of which have been revealed to the complainants. The complaints were likely valid, the report said.
The nature of the complaints has not been disclosed.
