City Manager Ann Mitchell speaks during a council meeting. (CHAT News)

By Eli J. Ridder | @EliRidder

Medicine Hat city manager claimed to have authority to revamp city hall she may not have had

Mar 29, 2024 | 8:31 PM

City Manager Ann Mitchell may not have had the authority to reorganize city hall that she claimed to have, according to documents released by Medicine Hat’s mayor this week.

The documents were among those Linnsie Clark sent to the third-party investigator from Kingsgate Legal who was looking into allegations the mayor broke council’s code of conduct during a public meeting in August 2023.

Mitchell told a closed council meeting on July 4, 2023, that she was advised by city solicitor Ben Bullock she was able to restructure the city’s departments without explicit council approval.

When Clark reached out to Bullock to ask about the opinion Mitchell said she received from him, Bullock denied ever giving that advice.

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“I never gave that advice,” he wrote.

It was during the Aug. 21, 2023, meeting that Clark pushed Mitchell on the issue of procedure, which did lead to the city manager to admit in error in process.

A Medicine Hat spokesperson told CHAT News Thursday that Mitchell will not be making any comments at this time.

“The City of Medicine Hat has a responsibility to the taxpayers to ensure that any matters like this are handled with the utmost discretion,” the spokesperson said.

“As there is a pending judicial review on this matter, it is not appropriate for the City Manager to make any comments at this time.”