'The line is blurry': Councillors question Yellowknife SAO's authority to create new division

The cost of adding a new managerial position at the City of Yellowknife without council approval was at least partially offset by the elimination of a municipal enforcement officer position, which was also done without any council involvement.

That came out during the public review of the city's budget this week.

Senior administrative officer Sheila Bassi-Kellett created anew emergency planning division and, last month, appointed longtime municipal enforcement manager Doug Gillard to manage it.

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Bassi-Kellettmade the changes shortly after an investigation into 2014 allegations thatGillardbullied and harassed staff and used security cameras on city facilities to zoom in on and surreptitiously observe women he found attractive. The investigationfoundit was more likely than not that that security cameras were misused.

Bassi-Kellett has said she did not have to get council approval to create a new emergency planning division and manager of emergency planning position or even discuss it with council because it did not result in any additional costs to the city.

"How did we pay for this salary of this new position?" asked Coun. Rommel Silverio at Tuesday's budget review. "Because we still have the [municipal enforcement manager]position."

Bassi-Kellett initially responded that the position was created at no cost to the city through "attrition." Pressed by Silverio, Bassi-Kellett later said the attrition was the resignation of a municipal enforcement officer, who has not been replaced.

No urgent need to update emergency plan, says GNWT

Bassi-Kellett told council it was necessary to create a new manager of emergency planning position because the city's current emergency plan is "quite behind the times." Bassi-Kellett also said new emergency preparedness legislation enacted by the territorial government includes new terms and conditions "that we need to uphold and address."

The city's current plan was released in July 2016. It addresses the requirements of the new legislation, namely, specifying roles, responsibilities and procedures that will be adopted and followed in the case of an emergency.

According to an official with the territory's Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, the new legislation does not place any urgent demands on municipalities.

Communities must provide copies of their most recent emergency plans to the territorial government.They must also review their plans annually.

"All of that said, there is no immediate expectation that all 33 emergency plans will be reviewed," said the official in an emailed response. "Updates will occur as communities have the opportunity to address their emergency plans."

Bassi-Kellett said the new division is also needed to address emergencies within the city's operations, such aswater leaks at city hall caused by heavy rains last summer. The SAO said the leaks had "massive implications" and caused the city to be "ground to a halt here for quite a number of days."

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At the time of the leaks, the city's description of their impact was less dramatic.

"It's still business as usual, however it might be a little different," said Kerry Penney, the city's communications director. "You can still pay your bills, pay your tickets, speak to someone if you need to. But it might just take a little more time."

Roles need to be defined

The senior administrative officer's contention that council need not be consulted on organizational changes that do not result in any additional costs was supported by newly-elected Mayor Rebecca Alty.

Alty told CBC last week that oncecouncil approves budgetary totals for the operation of each department, the SAO is free to make whatever organizational changes she feels appropriate without any council involvement.

But the city bylaw that sets out the roles and responsibilities of the city's top bureaucrat suggestsotherwise.

The Senior Administrative Officer Bylaw says part of the job is regularly reviewing the city's organizational and departmental structure "and recommending to Council changes for improving operating effectiveness and efficiency."

Coun. Julian Morse disagrees with the mayor's and Bassi-Kellett's suggestion that council need not be consulted when new positions are added or divisions created.

"I do think that, generally speaking, council should have involvement in speaking to the overall structure of the city," he said.

Morse is proposing that the 2019 budget include $60,000 for a review of the way the city is governed, including the roles of the senior administrative officer and council.

"The line is blurry and difficult to define," said Morse. "I've done the research on this, and this is a problem that dogs councils all over the country."