Human resources manager fired
By Greg Kielec
The city of Cornwall has fired its man- ager of human manager in a secret emer- gency meeting less than 24 hours after an in camera session last Monday night. The decision to fire Robert Menagh came at an “emergency” session at 4 p.m. Tues- day, according to reports. The meeting was called by Mayor Bob Kilger at 10 a.m. Tues- day, about 15 hours after Monday evening’s in camera session was held. The firing of Menagh, which could leave city taxpayers on the hook for another ex- pensive confidential settlement, was an- nounced by the city in a terse email early this afternoon. The Journal has appealed to the Ontario privacy commissioner the city’s refusal to release details of a settlement with former Glen Stor Dun Lodge adminis- trator Donna Derouchie last summer. The Journal was not notified of the Tues- day afternoon meeting, nor, it appears were other local media. Clerk Denise Labelle- Gelinas confirmed the meeting was called by Kilger, as per custom. She blamed the lack of notification on a software glitch. Labelle-Gelinas was unable to describe to The Journal what “emergency” prompted the calling of the rush meeting. She would only say it was to deal with a personnel issue. According to today’s press release from the city, the city has “relieved” Menagh of his duties “effective immediately”. The ter- mination was “without cause”, according to the release. "Council has decided to seek new direc- tion in the corporation's Human Resources Department,” said Mayor Bob Kilger in the release. “We thank Mr. Menagh for his years of service, and wish him well in the future." Listed as media contact on the release was the name and phone number of Cornwall Chief Administrative Officer Paul Fitz- patrick. He did not return a call from The Journal this afternoon. Menagh was a key figure in the whiste- blower case involving city manager Diana Shay who was intimidated and harassed after report a caase of resident abuse at Glen Stor Dun Lodge. But in an interview with The Journal in November 2011, he claimed he wasn’t solely responsible for the whistle- blower debacle. “I am not a lone wolf renegade operator here. We work in a collegial management style here,” he said at the time. The city also recently lost a human rights decision against a finance department em- ployee under his tenure. The two Shay cases – the other was a civil suit – and the human rights case involving Marie Anne Pilon cost the city more than $300,000 in legal fees. A judgment for dam-
Photo by Greg Kielec Human resources manager Robert Menagh speaks to members of Cornwall city council during a budget committee meeting early in 2011. Menagh, one of the key figures in a whistleblower case against the city, was fired last Wednesday.
City won’t release details of settlement with Menagh
was kept secret. A search of “emergency meeting” on the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing website directs readers to a PDF document entitled Continuity of Decision Making A Toolkit for Municipalities. According to a section of the document en- titled Emergency Procedure By-laws, mu- nicipalities can establish procedural bylaws which govern how a municipal council meeting can be called. “There often are long notice periods to en- sure that municipal residents are able to at- tend. This may not be appropriate during an emergency if a council meeting needs to be called quickly to make decisions con- cerning the emergency.” figure does not include possible legal costs to the city. Fitzpatrick confirmed that an “emer- gency” meeting called by Mayor Bob Kil- ger at 4 p.m. Tuesday was to discuss Menagh’s tenure. Kilger called the meet- ing at 10 a.m. Tuesday, just hours after a closed council session held prior to coun- cil’s regular meeting Monday night. Menagh was a central figure in the whistleblowing case against the city late last year, along with former Glen Stor Dun Lodge Administrator Donna Derouchie and Fitzpatrick. Derouchie quietly left her position in July 2011. The city has refused to release details of the settlement with Derouchie. The Jour- the tax hike as well as the addition of a tran- sit route to Brookdale Square at Brookdale Avenue and Tollgate Road, and the opera- tion the Benson Centre coupled with the Cornwall Civic Complex. One the plus side, the city has more than $1 million coming its way, some of which could help blunt the anticipated tax increase. Adams said a $500,000 insurance premium refund from Great West Life could be used to offset the tax hike. The city benefit from the beginning of court security cost uploading by the province
To allow a council to meet in a crisis, pro- cedure bylaws can include a provision that allows for the head of council or designate to call an emergency meeting without giv- ing the standard notice that usually applies to council meetings, the section reads. “In many cases, there will not be sufficient time to provide public notice, or it may be im- possible to issue notice due to an electricity or telecommunications disruption. Also of note, according to the document, is that even if an emergency meeting is held “without issuing standard notice, the pro- ceedings must still comply with the open meeting policy outlined in the Municipal Act, 2001.” Follow @gkielec on Twitter.com A document on the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs website appears to indi- cate emergency meetings can be called to deal with unexpected natural disasters in which phone lines and telecommunica- tions are affected. It does not mention emergency meetings to deal with person- nel issues. greg.kielec@eap.on.ca nal has appealed the case to the Ontario privacy commissioner. An emergency meeting may be called by the head of council without notice to the public or media. It is unclear whether a meeting called to discuss personnel is con- sidered a bonafide emergency under the Ontario Municipal Act. which will drop $145,000 in the city’s coffers this year. And the city is boasting a $413,957 surplus from its building department. For capital projects like road rebuilding, the city will receive $3.7 million in gas-tax rev- enue this year, an increase of $1.4 million over 2011, Adams said. The city will benefit from $90.4 million of operating revenue in 2012. About $48.6 mil- lion of that revenue comes from taxation, Adams said. The city will also spend $6.7 million on capital of which about $1.9 mil- lion will come from taxpayers.
By Greg Kielec
ages in the Pilon case is expected early this year. Menagh’s position was rumoured to be in jeopardy ever since news leaked out over the Shay cases and Pilon case, stories largely uncovered by The Journal. Menagh has served as human resources manager since January 2005. Tuesday’s meeting is not the first secret meeting held by city council. It held more than 10 hours in secret meetings in Novem- bers and more meetings in December, re- portedly to deal with the fallout of the whistleblower case. Council held another closed session on Dec. 19, which was announced in an email to The Journal but the time of the meeting Menagh is listed on the Ontario Ministry of Finance website as having earned a salary of $122,687 and $1,328 in benefits in 2010. If Menagh settled with the city for two years salary and benefits, he would receive $250,000 in taxpayer dollars. That The city of Cornwall will not be releas- ing details of a settlement with its for- mer human resources manager, according to the city’s CAO. Paul Fitzpatrick, in a call to The Journal on Wednesday evening, said the city won’t release details of any payout to Robert Menagh, who was fired by the city Wednesday. slightly larger share of the total tax pie this year : “You can see that that is increasing,” Adams said. Revenue from residential taxpayers com- prises 55.5 per cent of the budget – about $30.1 million – up from 55.18 per cent last year. The tax hike is “primarily driven” by a $1.7 million increase in salaries and benefits which will be paid to city employees this year, Adams said. A $600,000 increase in the cost of waste col- lection and recycling is also contributing to
Cornwall taxes could increase average of $56.13
By Greg Kielec
Residential property taxes will increase an average of $56.13 based on a $1.26 million increase in city spending detailed in a draft budget presented to Cornwall city council last Monday. The city arrived at the tax increase figure by taking an average of a cross-section of 250 properties throughout the city, said city fi- nance manager Maureen Adams in a pres- entation to city council. The budget will see homeowners pay a
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