In the midst of a divided city council’s public disagreements over facts regarding last year’s non-union wage increases, Mayor Paul Lefebvre has announced a preventative measure.
In a media release issued on Friday, Lefebvre said he’d be tabling a motion with city council to alter how salary-reviews of non-union staff are conducted.
“My motion will call for a comprehensive third-party report to be presented in open Council during the first year of each new term of Council,” according to the mayor’s statement. “This report will outline industry benchmarks and recommend salary adjustments if necessary, mirroring the standard practices observed in other municipalities across Ontario.
“The decision to request these reports will ensure that we can continue to make informed and data-driven decisions. It also ensures that we can provide clear justifications for any changes made.”
Sudbury.com reached out to Lefebvre’s office for additional comment beyond Friday’s written statement, but the mayor declined.
Communication has been a major factor in the public discourse surrounding last year’s wage hikes for some non-union city managers.
Sudbury.com broke the story in March, after leaked documents signed “Honest City Employees” were sent to our office which outlined 2023 wage hikes of between six and eight per cent for non-union city managers. These increases came in addition to their regular cost-of-living salary jumps of three per cent.
Last year’s wage increases were OK’d by city CAO Ed Archer using the delegated authority a unanimous city council voted to afford him on Sept. 26, 2023. The wage increases for pay groups 15-18 (city managers, but not the top tier), was estimated to carry a total annual cost of approximately $520,000.
In the wake of Sudbury.com’s initial story, some members of city council said they knew about the wage increases, while others said they did not.
Amidst this disagreement, city council was unanimous in passing a few associated motions. In late March, they agreed that city staff must review their 20-year-old Salary Administration Policy for non-union positions in a report to be tabled by September. On May 14, city council voted to rescind Archer’s delegated authority to change non-union wages (which they’d approved on Sept. 26, 2023). City council also voted on May 14 to ensure future changes to non-union salaries are made public during future open meetings.
During the May 14 meeting, Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc and Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh asserted that city council members should have known exactly what they were doing with the wage hikes — a point Ward 7 Coun. Natalie Labbee expressed adamant disagreement with.
“This is definitely one of those situations where asking for forgiveness is a lot better than asking for permission,” Labbée said of Archer. “If you don’t have trust, then you have nothing.”
(The delegated authority Labbée voted in favour of on Sept. 26, 2023, gave Archer the permissions in question, which he followed through with using parameters set out by city council.)
Labbée chased these comments with an open letter published May 21 in which she suggested that she would resign if she were in Archer’s position, and that she would “die on my sword” over the fact the $520,000 decision wasn’t disclosed to city council prior to the Sudbury.com leak.
Two city staff members have joined some long standing members of city council by saying that city council was provided this information earlier than the March 2024 Sudbury.com leak.
This information, including the $520,000 figure, was provided during a closed meeting on Dec. 12, 2023, City Solicitor and Clerk Eric Labelle said in an internal city email leaked to Sudbury.com. During the May 14 city council meeting, city Corporate Services General Manager Kevin Fowke told the city’s elected officials that the wage-change information was provided to city council during a closed-session meeting in December 2023.
Members of the public, including media, are not privy to the goings on of closed sessions.
Further, the emails leaked to Sudbury.com revealed that a report on the then-proposed wage increases was discussed during a May 16, 2023, closed session of city council. This meeting concluded by city council voting to delegate authority to Archer to make a decision. The associated bylaw which followed through with this May 16, 2023, decision was unanimously approved by city council on Sept. 26, 2023, and paved the way for Archer to increase salaries.
In the wake of this week’s reporting by Sudbury.com, both Labbée and Ward 7 Coun. Mike Parent have taken to social media to reaffirm that they were not told about the wage increases. They also alleged bias and flawed/selective reporting on the part of Sudbury.com.
Lefebvre’s motion calling for third-party reports on salaries for each newly elected city council is expected to appear at a future meeting of city council, though Lefebvre did not ascribe a timeline in the written statement he has declined to provide additional comments on.
The next city council meeting is scheduled to take place on May 28 beginning at 6 p.m. The meeting can be viewed in-person at Tom Davies Square or livestreamed by clicking here.
Mayor Paul Lefebvre’s full statement is as follows:
As your Mayor, I am committed to ensuring a culture of openness, transparency, and effective communication within City Hall. These principles are not just ideals but foundational pillars that ensure trust between Council and the citizens we serve. Effective communication between Council and Staff, and vice versa, is crucial to maintaining this trust and achieving our shared goals.
In alignment with these values and of the need to continuously improve our governance practices, I will be bringing forward a motion to City Council regarding how salary review practices of non-union staff are conducted. My motion will call for a comprehensive third-party report to be presented in open Council during the first year of each new term of Council. This report will outline industry benchmarks and recommend salary adjustments if necessary, mirroring the standard practices observed in other municipalities across Ontario.
This initiative is not just about salary adjustments; it is about recognizing and valuing the hard work and dedication of our staff. By ensuring that our compensation practices are fair, competitive, and aligned with industry standards, we can attract and retain the best talent, ultimately enhancing the quality of services provided to our community.
The decision to request these reports will ensure that we can continue to make informed and data-driven decisions. It also ensures that we can provide clear justifications for any changes made.
In conclusion, this plan underscores my commitment to continuous improvement and is a testament to our dedication to serving you with integrity, efficiency, and fairness. I look forward to working with my fellow council members, all our dedicated staff, and all of you to uphold these values and continue to build a community that we can all be proud of.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
