GSU audit debate gets personal

An audit of how a communications tower ended up on the property of the CEO of Greater Sudbury Utilities was narrowly defeated Tuesday following a day of meetings that featured bitter exchanges and two dramatic votes.

A morning presentation from the GSU's own auditors, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, to the audit committee satisfied most around the council table about the state of the utility's finances, and a motion to have Auditor General Brian Bigger examine the impact of selling Agilis, the GSU's telecommunications company, was defeated.

But the committee voted 5-4 in favour of having Bigger examine whether proper procedures were followed when a communications tower was built on GSU CEO Frank Kallonen's land several years ago.

In a June interview with Northern Life, GSU chair Frances Caldarelli said the tower went up because of a staffing issue, and the need to have 24-hour monitoring of the system. At the time, Kallonen was one of three employees who were on call.

“The reason that one was put there was, there was a thing in the collective agreement that said that unionized staff could not be on call more than one week a month,” Caldarelli said. “In that department, there were two union people and there was Frank. So that meant he had to be on call two weeks out of the month.”

It was a surplus TVO tower that only cost the utility the expense of moving it and putting it up on Kallonen's property, she said, which came to $17,000.

Kallonen gave councillors the same explanation Tuesday morning, but Mayor Marianne Matichuk said Bigger should still look into the matter.

“I don't think the questions that have been asked in the community have been answered,” Matichuk said.

That led to a hostile exchange between the mayor and Ward 2 Coun. Jacques Barbeau. Why, Barbeau wondered, didn't the mayor raise these questions when she sat on the GSU's board of directors.

“These types of things cost the taxpayer money,” Barbeau said, of audits. “Who is the mayor here to support? The taxpayer or a private corporation?”

An outraged Matichuk told Barbeau to “back down” because he was out of order for making an personal attack.

“I'm asking that this be stricken from the record,” Matichuk said, her voice rising. “If you want to personally attack me, Mr. Barbeau, I have a real problem with that. This is not right.”

With several councillors that were likely 'no' votes missing, the committee voted 5-4 to have Bigger investigate the tower issue. Caldarelli and GSU management left the meeting immediately following the vote for a meeting with the province.

While it passed in the morning, the GSU audit motion would have to be ratified in the afternoon city council meeting. By then, however, Ward 6 Coun. Andre Rivest had arrived. With his 'no' vote, the motion was tied, and therefore defeated.

After the meeting, Dan Melanson, president of the Greater Sudbury Taxpayer's Association, insisted questions still linger about the GSU and the tower on Kallonen's property.

“They've given about five different explanations for it now,” Melanson said.

The GSTA has been pushing hard for the GSU audit, and some on council have accused Matichuk of being their voice at city hall.

It's an accusation both reject, and Melanson said voters will remember this issue come election time.

For her part, Matichuk said after the meeting she tried to raise questions when she was part of the GSU board, but couldn't get the answers she was looking for.