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March 2004
Newsletter
The Firing of the City Manager by Mayor DiIanni
A Hamilton Spectator editorial says that "Mayor Larry Di Ianni has demonstrated considerable leadership" in firing Bob Robertson "in the aftermath of a series of mis-steps on the city manager's part." However, the newspaper didn't tell us what these "mis-steps" were. On the contrary, a news article in the same notes that Robertson got the maximum possible bonus for his work for the City last year.
The newspaper and other media also dropped the whole discussion of the firing three days after it occurred.
We are left to guess what the Spectator and DiIanni consider to be Mr. Robertson's "mis-steps". Here's a few possibilities:
- Robertson thought the Red Hill expressway is unaffordable.
On January 31, the Spectator reported that senior city staff were telling councillors that the Red Hill Creek Expressway is unaffordable. Robertson didn't contradict this. A week later, the City Treasurer said that all the City's schemes "are unaffordable at this time". Honesty may not be the safest policy for city staff when it comes to the expressway. The last City Manager that got fired (Doug Lychak) also disagreed with the expressway project. DiIanni and the Spectator are both strongly pro-expressway.
- Robertson refused to take the rap for DiIanni's conflict of interest.
DiIanni and his chief aide Mario Joanette arranged two $10,000 contracts to the consulting company of Joanette's wife, and then got Robertson to sign off on the contracts. Joanette said Robertson knew about the conflict and DiIanni suggested Robertson likely knew. Robertson contradicted them publicly.
- DiIanni and Robertson strongly disagreed on sprawl.
Robertson and other senior City staff repeatedly pointed out that the City loses money every time a new house is built on the outskirts of the City. Last summer DiIanni publicly disagreed with Robertson on this issue. It is well-known that DiIanni was strongly supported by big Hamilton developers. The Spectator is a "platinum partner" of the Hamilton-Halton Home Builders Association.
- DiIanni thought Robertson was too candid.
There was a public spat between DiIanni and Robertson last summer. Robertson had told the media that he was concerned about millions of dollars in spending that wasn't subject to proper council oversight. DiIanni blasted him for saying this publicly. During the same period, the auditors sharply criticized the city audit committee for not properly overseeing spending. DiIanni was one of four members of that committee. The Spectator 'forgot' about this when it decided to back DiIanni in the election.
- DiIanni and Robertson disagreed on the budget.
Under Robertson, City staff appeared determined to end the practice of passing an apparently balanced budget that results in huge deficits at the end of the year. The January 7 draft budget promised a "Decision Package" of proposed cuts "by the third week in January". It didn't appear until March 12.
The dumping of the city manager is further evidence of the deepening crisis at City Hall. More than three dozen senior staff have left the City in the past year for new jobs. Major defections in the past few months include the budget chief, the city solicitor, the directors of facilities and fleets, and the director of water and wastewater. The budget crisis remains unresolved, and the City's economy continues to rapidly deteriorate.
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