Spears, Jenkins couldn’t vote on city manager’s firing

In-camera decision made with one at Good Roads conference, other not given chance to vote

By Sara ROSS The Orillia Packet & Times March 5 2001

Two Orillia city councillors say they weren’t given the opportunity to voice their opinion before city manager Ian Brown was fired.

In an email sent to The Packet Friday morning, Mayor Angelo Orsi stated Coun. Don Jenkins “did not vote.”

Jenkins says this isn’t true.

“It’s not correct to say I never voted. I wasn’t given the opportunity for a negative vote.”

When the unrecorded vote took place, Orsi asked for those in favour (of the firing) to raise their hand.

“He just called those in favour. He didn’t say those opposed,” Jenkins said.

During the closed session, Jenkins said there wasn’t an opportunity to debate the issue before a vote was made.

“There were issues that hadn’t been resolved and I would have liked to have seen the issues resolved before that,” Jenkins said adding he cannot explain further other than that the issues were regarding Brown.

Coun. Paul Spears would have voted against terminating the city manager if he was in council attendance Monday night.

“I’ve had no problems with Ian. I would have voted to keep him around,” Spears said. “I recognized his strengths. I think it will be difficult to replace him.”

At the time of the decision, the 10-year council member was at the annual Ontario Good Roads Conference in Toronto as he has done for the past 40 years.

In past years council has accommodated Spears, who pipes at the conference, and moved council to a later date.

On Monday Spears was working the registration desk from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“There was no way I could have come back (for the closed-session meeting) because the meeting began at 3 p.m.”

Spears says Brown contributed a lot to the city and that without him there may be no Millennium Trail.

“I didn’t always agree with him, but I don’t always agree with my wife. We’ve been married 48 years now and we’re still married.”

Since Spears has been on council he says there have always been councillors who “haven’t cared for Ian.”

“There’s always councillors that don’t agree with him, or think because (Brown) doesn’t agree with them he’s wrong.”

Contacted on Friday, Orsi said he could not confirm how councillors voted.

“I didn’t have to break a tie. I can’t make it any clearer than that. It’s very clear, do the math. It wasn’t a recorded vote so I can’t tell you the number.”

John Craig, Orillia’s interim city manager, has taken Brown’s place at city hall.

He will be responsible for finding a new CAO as well as day-to-day city manager duties.

Craig is being paid $15,000 a month for all of his duties. The total value of his 90-day contract is $41,250, as he is taking one week off in April.

Orsi says he has no concerns about the city developing a budget with an interim city manager.

“The mayor’s task force in consultation with the city manager and Bob Ripley, as treasurer will work on actually reviewing the budgetary process and the interim will be setting up an interim budget. That’s all going to happen. Nothing changes, nothing changes at all. Business as usual.”