Peggygate could get uglier
http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...uld-get-uglier
Call it Peggygate, Raisegate, or just an unholy mess.
But there’s no question Mayor Bob Bratina is deep in doo-doo over conflicting versions of who initiated the $30,000 pay spike to his chief of staff, Peggy Chapman.
Yesterday councillors spent more than two hours behind closed doors listening to the human resources department’s version of events and discussing whether Bratina contravened council’s code of conduct.
Bratina was absent from the meeting so they decided not to make a move until they hear his side at another in camera session scheduled for next Tuesday.
But there are already rumblings Bratina may face a formal censure or investigation by the integrity commissioner unless he publicly apologizes for throwing staff under the bus.
When originally queried about raising Chapman’s pay from $90,000 to $120,000, Bratina told The Spec the city’s HR department evaluated her role and found she was vastly underpaid.
He said Chapman didn’t ask for the raise and he didn’t give it.
Bratina was a little fuzzier on the details at a subsequent meeting with the Spec editorial board, but more or less reiterated his initial position.
That all changed a few hours later when he told councillors by email that HR provided him with salary ranges and he then increased Chapman’s salary to reflect her expanded responsibilities.
His second version dovetails with HR director Helen Hale Tomasik’s account of what happened, which circulated between councillors in an email.
Councillors are livid that Bratina initially tried to pin the huge pay hike on staff when the initiative originated in his office, though it’s not clear if it was Bratina or Chapman herself who approached HR to ask for the salary ranges of previous chiefs of staff.
Nobody is publicly accusing the mayor of lying, but privately they’re expressing a couple of serious concerns.
First, the mayor may have deliberately misled council and the public
Second, awarding Chapman such a massive increase potentially undermines the city’s arguments for frugality during its talks with the Amalgamated Transit Union.
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http://www.thespec.com/news/local/ar...uld-get-uglier