Another city manager has left the organization, Sudbury.com has confirmed.
Greater Sudbury Transit Director Roger Sauvé, who has been on the job for at least 10 years, is the latest in a growing line of executives to leave since the new city council was elected in 2014.
“We can confirm that Roger is no longer with the organization,” city spokesperson Shannon Dowling said in an email Monday.
Dowling didn't say whether he resigned or was dismissed. Robert Gauthier, transit operations manager, is also no longer with the city.
Sauvé might be best known as the city manager in charge of transit when the bus ticket scandal unfolded.
The scandal involved Zio's Cafe, owned by Tony Sharma, whose company had a contract to sell bus tickets on the city's behalf. Not only did the company fall behind in paying the city ticket revenue — it owed as much as $1 million before it became public in 2010 — some cheques payable to Zio's had the company name scratched out and replaced with Sharma's name.
It was never publicly revealed which staff member had altered the cheques.
Former Greater Sudbury Police Chief Frank Elsner called in the OPP to investigate in 2012. They concluded that because the city had, in effect, extended Sharma credit, the chances of getting a criminal conviction were marginal.
More than $500,000 in missing ticket money was never recovered. Mayor Brian Bigger has hired forensic investigators in an attempt to determine exactly what went on, but the results of that investigation have not been released.
Sauvé is the sixth manager to leave the city since the October 2014 municipal election. Emergency Services manger Tim Beadman left suddenly in January, while city budget chief Lorella Hayes left late in 2015 to take a similar position with the GSU.
Last year, Catherine Matheson, the city's manager of community development, left on a two-year secondment to become a senior director with the Northeast LHIN. Former CAO Doug Nadorozny left abruptly in April 2015 amid speculation he had been dismissed. He was replaced by Bob Johnston, the head of Greater Sudbury Airport.
Johnston was expected to hold the job on an interim basis until a permanent CAO was found, but he left abruptly at the end of September. A new CAO, Ed Archer, begins work this month.
