Mount Pearl councillor says she'll contact province about Steve Kent investigation
Lucy Stoyles made comments at Tuesday public meeting
A Mount Pearl councillor says she plans to reach out to the province's Department of Municipal Affairs in relation to an investigation that involves the city's top bureaucrat.
Coun. Lucy Stoyles made the comments at the end of a public council meeting broadcast online Tuesday evening.
"I have one other issue that I want to bring forward tonight," Stoyles said.
"Under full disclosure — and I'm going to repeat that — under full disclosure, tomorrow morning, I will be contacting Municipal Affairs."
Stoyles did not provide details, other than saying the past few days have been "very trying" and referencing a "disturbing" email she received Sunday evening from an unidentified person who said they worked for the city.
"So tomorrow morning, I have every intention of contacting Municipal Affairs concerning the investigation of the former CAO, who's off on leave," Stoyles said.
Watch Coun. Lucy Stoyles's comments at the May 5 council meeting here:
In an email to CBC News early Wednesday morning, Stoyles declined to elaborate further.
"No comment at this time," she wrote.
When asked whether Stoyles has contacted Municipal Affairs, the department told CBC News on Wednesday afternoon that it "has received email correspondence regarding the City of Mount Pearl" and will "review and respond accordingly."
Mount Pearl city officials declined comment.
Steve Kent — who has been off on paid leave from his post as the city's chief administrative officer since Oct. 2 — did not respond to messages Wednesday from CBC News.
Last week, the Telegram reported that the probe is ongoing, and Kent had been paid more than $122,000 since being placed on leave seven months ago.
In October, CBC News reported that council had called in an out-of-province labour lawyer to investigate Kent's workplace interactions with city staff.
CBC News spoke with employees who said morale at city hall was poor, and workers were experiencing mental health issues linked to Kent's alleged improper conduct.
They alleged that he had mocked subordinates in front of other staff, berated workers verbally, and made comments about job security that they had perceived to be intimidating.
At the time, Kent said he was aware that a "personnel-related process" was underway, and that he was "more than happy to co-operate and participate in the same."
Council has been tight-lipped about the situation. Stoyles's comments appear to be among the first made publicly by a councillor.
Kent is a former mayor of Mount Pearl and provincial MHA, cabinet minister, and deputy premier.
He left politics to take on the post of Mount Pearl CAO in 2017.