Whys and Wherefores of a Statutory Appointment

The post of Treasurer carries legal responsibilities and liabilities. Management of the municipality's funds are entrusted to his care.Failure of a Statutory Officer to perform is ultimately the responsibility of those who make the appointment. The appointment is made by Bylaw. Only Council can adopt a Bylaw.

The normal process to fill the post is by public competition. A head-hunter can be contracted. The second method is more expensive and not always satisfactory though either is acceptable to
assure the public things are being done right. It is the only way to ensure a lodge brother , a cousin, niece or nephew, best friend or friend of a friend is not being handed the job, qualified or not, or without satisfactory references.

In politics openness and transparency are touted as virtue.Rightly so. It is not enough for things to be right. They must be seen to be right.

There is a ladder of accountability in municipal business as elsewhere. A Chief Administrative Officer is the management team leader. There are only about a hundred in the province. The post is not mandatory. The responsibility is for smooth and efficient operations. At staff level, he is head honcho.He is only as good as those reporting to him. He is accountable to Council. The line between political and administrative responsibility must be marked and maintained. Crossing it is not a wise move.

Councillors are individually accountable to electors.... who provide the resources to pay for services. They have little to say about how much they will pay or how money will be spent. There should be assurance their hard-earned or fixed income dollars are wisely, honestly and legally managed.

The Treasurer's post is mandatory. Knowledge of regulations on local financial management
is essential. Municipal policies and procedures are equally important. Failure on the part of a statutory officer to uphold provincial law is an offense subject to prosecution. Neither Councillors nor the Mayor or Chief Administrative Officer have authority to direct a statutory officer to act, except within the law.

No competition for the job was posted. No recruitment service was contracted. No recommendation was made to council. Councillors were informed of the decision after the deed was done. We were informed an interim appointment had been made and an individual would assume the post on April 1st.

There is neither rhyme nor reason for an interim appointment to this post. Three months notice was provided by the current Treasurer. It was ample time for the normal process.

In my judgement, the arbitrary decision is invalid. The authority of Council was disregarded and disrespected. Apparently, neither the Mayor nor the Chief Administrative Officer are aware of the division of authority between council and the administration.Either that or they jointly made a conscious choice .