CAO will tell RMWB council about future exempt staff bonuses

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The mayor and council of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) will be told about any bonuses before they are approved for senior municipal employees. The motion, which passed at council’s Tuesday meeting, comes after more than $1 million in bonuses were approved for senior RMWB directors in 2021 and 2022.

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The RMWB alleges in a lawsuit these bonuses were “illegitimate” and carried out in secret. Kari Donnelly, the RMWB’s former human resources director who approved the bonuses, alleges her actions followed existing procedures and were known to the CAO.

Councillors were sympathetic to the idea, but there were concerns raised about council potentially interfering with the municipality’s administrative duties.

“This motion might not take care of the past, however posterity will judge us on what we did after what had happened,” said Councillor Funky Banjoko, who pitched the motion.

Immediately after Banjoko read her motion and argued to council why it should pass, Councillor Shafiq Dogar asked if Banjoko drafted a motion on the topic. Mayor Sandy Bowman told Dogar that Banjoko had just read her motion and told him where to find it in the agenda. After briefly skimming the motion, Dogar said the motion’s intent was not clear.

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Councillor Ken Ball wondered how useful the motion is if council cannot approve staff bonuses. Ball and Bowman were also concerned the motion could violate sections of the Municipal Governance Act. Councillor Allan Grandison worried council would micromanage routine administrative finances beyond passing an annual municipal budget.

Grandison was told council cannot recommend certain employees get bonuses, determine their compensation or conduct staff evaluations. Council can approve bonus programs that set guidelines and limits for the CAO, but cannot make individual decisions in the program.

Councillor Lance Bussieres agreed council should not decide which employees get bonuses, but argued the former Finance and Audit Committee would have recommended limits and guidelines.

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Banjoko hoped her motion would give council a greater role in approving bonuses, comparing it to a board of directors approving bonuses for staff. However, she argued the motion will improve transparency on how public money is spent.

CUPE, Hunter spar over bonus commitments

CAO Henry Hunter said he had no issues with the motion’s original wording and has no issues bringing bonuses to council. Because this is a human resources issue, council would be told during a private, in-camera meeting. Hunter also reminded council the CAO does not need council’s permission to approve bonuses.

Craig Milley, president of CUPE Local 1505, urged council to support the motion and opposed any bonuses for exempt staff. He accused the RMWB of refusing danger pay or extra compensation to unionized staff during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2016 Horse River Wildfire.

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“You’re telling me that bonuses should get paid out to exempt personnel because, well, they’ve done a good job? They were paid to do a good job. Our members are paid to do a good job. They don’t get an additional bonus at the end of the year if they’ve done a good job,” said Milley.

The union, which represents municipal staff, was outraged when they learned about the recent bonuses through media reports. They are accusing the RMWB of withholding this information during bargaining talks and alleging the Alberta Labour Code was violated.

Milley claimed Hunter promised to stop bonuses for exempt RMWB staff during recent bargaining talks and challenged him to repeat this claim at Tuesday’s meeting. Hunter responded “absolutely not” and said this was not what he said.

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“That was made at the time when we were in the negotiations over how we were going to move forward. And I made the commitment at that point in time that there was no exempt bonuses in this year, which is 2024,” said Hunter.

“No, you actually quite specifically said there will be no bonuses moving forward, Henry,” said Milley. “Henry comes in and he tells us one thing, and he comes and tells you guys another thing. He won’t sit here and tell you guys the same message he’s telling us. It’s very troubling that you guys are keeping him employed.”

Bonuses ‘tip of the impropriety iceberg’

Fort McMurray resident Michael Ferrera supported the motion, but said the bonus scandal was only “the tip of the impropriety iceberg.” Ferrera also mentioned procurement, hiring practices and contracts as other examples of problem areas with the RMWB.

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“A forensic audit will fix it, and it’ll probably hurt in the short term, but pay huge dividends moving forward,” said Ferrera. “I’d imagine a number of you will be approached by admin regarding this, saying it isn’t necessary. That means it’s absolutely necessary.”

Council passed the motion, with only Councillor Stella Lavallee opposed. Councillor Loretta Waquan was absent. Councillor Keith McGrath excused himself because of a conflict of interest. Donnelly is countersuing McGrath, Milley and the RMWB for $2.1 million.

None of the allegations made by the RMWB, Donnelly, McGrath or Milley have been proven in court.

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vmcdermott@postmedia.com

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