Relations between Medicine Hat's mayor, council and staff created 'untenable working environment': report

A breakdown in relations between Medicine Hat's mayor, some councillors and a top administrator created an "untenable working environment" that distracted the city from the business of governing, its council heard Monday night.

A 207-page municipal report delivered by provincially-appointed inspector Ian McCormack revealed a city hall "managed in an irregular, improper and improvident manner" over the last two years.

McCormack described a dysfunctional relationship between those on council and between elected representatives and senior staff, along with a lack of adherence to proper procedure.

"The governance function of the city is ineffective and is characterized by rancour, suspicion, and accusations," he wrote, pointing out a "hostile environment" that impacts the city's ability to function. 

Despite the internal conflict and tension, the city has been able to continue serving the public effectively, the inspector said. 

"The citizens, businesses, and community organizations in Medicine Hat are still by and large receiving the programs and services they need from their city," McCormack added.

The report includes over 60 recommendations that aim to improve the functionality of the City of Medicine Hat.  

As part of the report release Monday, Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams issued three directives that council is legally required to follow. 

The first instructs council and chief administrator Ann Mitchell to review the recommendations and create a plan to address the recommendations in the report. 

Another says council and senior staff need to complete respectful workplace training that meets a threshold of approval for the minister. 

A third directive instructs the city to publish McCormack's report on its website. A city spokesperson said that is expected by Tuesday.

'Not super stoked'

Mayor Linnsie Clark — whose conflict with city manager Mitchell burst into the public eye just under two years ago — said the report lacked due diligence. 

"I feel a lack of procedural fairness," Clark said. "Overall, I am not super stoked about the content."

She engaged in a lengthy back-and-forth with the report's author, saying McCormack's use of anonymous comments and summaries didn't allow her to adequately respond.

"I don't think it provides me with a reasonable opportunity to respond because it's an anonymous person's feelings," said Clark, who was previously a lawyer for the city.  

"It's stated as though that's proof of something other than the person's feeling, which it's not."

Clark, who suggested the report could be defamatory, said she plans to release a written response to the audit in the future. 

Municipal affairs expert George Cuff, who was contracted by the city manager to provide advice to council as tensions ramped up last year, said the report was professional and thorough. 

"It would be wise of the mayor, councillors, city manager [and] senior staff to review it carefully and make it sure that it is implemented," he told CBC News. 

Mitchell, the city's chief administrative officer, called it a "very difficult situation" but thanked McCormack for his approach to the inspection. 

"We appreciated your honesty, integrity and candour, and I wanted to thank staff for being so open and responsive to the situation," Mitchell said. 

"I do feel like the recommendations have given us a really solid road map, so thank you."

Several councillors who spoke after McCormack's presentation were supportive. 

"I found that this was an anxiety-provoking process for all of us," said Coun. Allison Knodel, who called it a "very difficult thing to experience."

How we got here

Medicine Hat's city council voted 6-3 at a September 2024 meeting to call for a municipal inspection after months of internal conflict.

Mayor Clark was accused of breaking council's code of conduct after a tense exchange between her and the city manager during a public meeting in 2023. 

Citing a third-party report into her actions that found "sufficient evidence" she broke the conduct rules, council unanimously voted to declare misconduct and strip Clark of most of her mayoral powers — including a 50 per cent reduction in salary. 

Clark soon after filed a judicial review in an attempt to remove the sanctions she said were unfair and disproportionate.

A Calgary court last August ruled largely in Clark's favour, rolling back most of the limits on her power and re-establishing her pay. 

The next month, Coun. Andy McGrogan proposed asking for the audit with the aim of restoring public trust in city hall and setting up the next term of council for success. 

Clark, along with two councillors, opposed the request, citing concerns over any unknown negative side-effects that could damage the reputation of the city or the morale of staff, but they were outvoted. 

Then-municipal affairs minister Ric McIver agreed to council's request and decided to move ahead with the inspection in November after completing an initial preliminary stage that included interviews with members of council and administration.

With a population of almost 65,000, Medicine Hat is the largest municipality in Alberta to undergo such an inspection, according to McCormack. 

Albertans will go to the polls on Oct. 20 to elect their next municipal councils. 

So far, neither the sitting mayor nor any of the councillors have announced an intent to run again.