PORT HOOD: Inverness Municipal Council spent more than an hour behind closed doors discussing a number of serious but unsubstantiated allegations regarding Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Keith MacDonald.
After meeting in-camera — which is a portion of a municipal council’s meeting where non-public matter are discussed, like staffing – Warden Betty Ann MacQuarrie said she and council feel a letter they received regarding the CAO’s work is unfounded.
“We’ve concluded that the letter has no merit, and we have no detailed comments at this time,” she said. “The letter is considered anonymous, even though one of our councillors did associate himself with it.
“He denies that the letter reflects his feelings, but the feeling of an anonymous person who wrote the letter.”
The letter was signed by Councillor John MacLennan, who services District 4. However, when asked to explain where the four-page note came from, MacLennan said it was from an unnamed taxpayer. It is MacLennan’s job, he said, to take the letter to council on that person’s behalf.
“I got the letter from a person in the municipality who was wondering about all the items involved,” MacLennan said. “Some of it may have been fabricated, and some of it might not have been.”
MacLennan said he has confidence in the CAO, but he’s willing to hear arguments for what may or may not have been done correctly.
“I am satisfied, but I don’t know what the writer of the letter is going to do now,” he said. “He was quite adamant that he’s going to keep at it, so maybe he’ll come to council and do his thing.”
The items of concern outlined in the letter were divided into four main areas: hiring practices; awards of contracts; a breach of public trust; and professional conduct.
“Certain people were hired for positions despite other candidates being more qualified and factors such as relatives and relationships such as neighbours were involved,” the letter read in part.
The letter writer maintained that contracts were awarded without proper procurement practices being followed.
In terms of a breach of public trust, the letter outlined two alleged instances of mismanagement. Fourteen months before Hurricane Dorian rolled through the area, council approved a capital budget that green lit the purchase of portable generators for use in the municipal water system, in case of power outage. The generators were purchased but not ready for use at the time of the hurricane.
The letter also questioned if untreated water entered the water distribution system in Inverness, during Hurricane Dorian.
In terms of professional conduct, the letter writer cited an allegedly instance of an employee being dismissed with cause receiving a retirement allowance. With that, the writer alleged the Director of Finance was used to prepare requests for proposals for an engineering contract even though “the director is not an engineer and her ability to write a request for proposal in relation to engineering services is questionable.”
When speaking to reporters, MacQuarrie said she doesn’t believe the accusations are factual.
“There were some very false statements made in the letter, and we’re letting everybody know we consider it to be without merit,” she said. “We have full confidence in our CAO and staff.
“Pretty much all of the statements were false.”
MacDonald said he would have to look over the letter before he’s able to make a comment on the matter.