Millar: Tempest in a Teapot

Ray Millar blog September 20 2010
Several people have contacted me with questions regarding my past employment as Fire Chief for the Township of Tiny and although it is a 15 year old issue, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss it.

My part time employment as Fire Chief with the Township of Tiny ended when I was terminated “Without Cause” sometime in 1996, the exact date I am uncertain of.  Following my termination, I initiated legal proceedings against the municipality in a lawsuit for Wrongful Dismissal. The matter was eventually resolved in an out of court settlement shortly after a new council was elected in 1997.
Given that my termination was “without cause”, I can only speculate as to what might have motivated Council to act in the manner they chose.  With that said, there are a few occurrences that gave rise to conflict between me and members of Council.
For example, as Fire Chief, I was directed by a member of Council to give away surplus municipal assets to a friend of the council member. I refused to do so, pointing out to all members of Council that the municipality had a procedural bylaw in place with respect to the disposition of municipal assets. Giving municipal assets away on the direction of one Council member clearly contravened that bylaw.
Those readers with a long memory may recall this issue being described as a “Tempest in a Teapot”. While it is true that the value of the asset in question was negligible, it was nevertheless a matter of principle and policy. In addition, there were safety concerns over the continued use of this equipment by anyone. The reason the equipment was removed from active service was that it would no longer meet performance standards and posed a serious risk of injury. To give the equipment away, even if it had been permitted by policy, would have exposed the municipality to liability. In the end, the assets were disposed of in accordance with the policy.
On another occasion during the construction of the Wyebridge and North West Basin Fire Stations, construction contracts were let by way of sealed tender pursuant to the municipality’s financial procedures bylaw. Bids were received and recommendations were made to council for acceptance. For reasons unknown to me, the recommended bidder was not acceptable to members of Council and I was directed to retender the project. Furthermore, Council insisted that this matter was an “in camera” item and was not to be discussed publicly.
When given this direction, I refused to comply and brought to Council’s attention, the sections of the Municipal Act that addressed matters of accountability and transparency. Council recognized that their direction, if followed, would put the municipality in contravention of not only the municipality’s own procedural bylaw, but the Municipal Act as well. Consequently, the decision to retender the construction contracts was abandoned.
There are other examples as well, all with a similar theme. In all cases, I had the option of following the directions given to me, ignoring policy and the law, acting with only my interests in mind, more specifically, keeping my job.  Instead, I put my job on the line and chose to act in the best interests of the taxpayers of this municipality. It’s a decision I don’t regret and wouldn’t hesitate to repeat.  It’s more important to do what’s right rather than to do what’s easy!By the way, here’s what the Firefighters had to say on a recognition award presented to me following my dismissal; “Presented to Ray Millar, whose service as Fire Chief transformed the department and established a new standard of emergency response in the Township of Tiny. Presented by grateful Firefighters. October 22, 1996.”