Sanctions present new ‘challenges’ in day-to-day work, Medicine Hat’s mayor says

“But, I do really hope that something good will come of this.”

Municipalities across Alberta have moved towards a governance structure that hands more power over to top staffers since the Municipal Government Act was introduced decades ago, Clark said.

The mayor referenced the Carver Model of governance that divides a board of directors — or a city council — from day-to-day operations of an organization, instead handing it off to a chief executive, such as a city manager.

The municipal act stipulates that councils give direction to the chief administrative officer — known in Medicine Hat as a city manager — who, in turn, directs the appropriate employees to fulfill the directive.

“As a council, it’s important for us to really clarify what the public wants and what the public expected from their municipal government,” Clark said.

Mayor Linnsie Clark speaks during an interview on CHAT News on Wednesday. (CHAT News)

The matter of employees making major decisions independent of council was core to the 2023 exchange between Mayor Clark and City Manager Ann Mitchell.

Mitchell over the course of 2023 restructured swathes of city hall to improve its operations and efficiency.

Clark argued Mitchell did not get the required formal permission from council to implement those changes and placed pressure on the top staffer in a way that some on council found inappropriate.

The Alberta government has planned significant changes to the municipal act and Premier Danielle Smith said in April her municipal affairs ministry is looking into changes to the municipal code of conduct requirements.

Smith, the MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat, has maintained the code should not be weaponized by members of council.

“It really shouldn’t be used as a way of just scoring political points from one council member who disagrees with another,” she said in April.

‘Grateful for support’

Applause and cheering from supporters in the public gallery has accompanied Clark during all five of the council and committee-of-the-whole meetings that have taken place since the sanctions were imposed in March.

When asked if she has been using social media where her supporters have been vocal, Clark said she tries to avoid logging on as much as possible.

“I know that is where a lot of discussion happens and I’m grateful for all of the support that I’ve received and I’m certainly not dismissing social media as a tool for communication, but you can get down a rabbit hole,” Clark said.

“There’s lots of things on there that maybe you didn’t need to see or hear and so I like to try and stay off as much as possible,” she added.

Reaction on social media has included a mix of those in support of Clark’s efforts to undo the sanctions and others who say the restrictions by council are appropriate to reign in a rogue mayor. Many want to hit reset on the entirety of council and elect a new city government.

Clark said council needs to push through and keep trying to find common ground to help improve the lives of residents, an opinion that many on council have said in recent weeks.

If a by-election happened now, it would be too close to the planned municipal elections scheduled for fall 2025.

“If we called a municipal election right now we’d be right into election season again,” she said.

Clark did not expect the difficulties she’d face in trying to improve accountability and transparency at city hall.

“It took us a decade or a couple of decades to get to where we are right now and so when you try and change those things there’s going to be struggles and challenges,” she said.

“I didn’t expect those challenges specifically but certainly anytime you’re trying to enact significant change, not everybody is going to be on board with that.”

— with files from Dan Reynish

by Eli J. Ridder

Sanctions present new ‘challenges’ in day-to-day work, Medicine Hat’s mayor says

‘Grateful for support’

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