Stouffville mayor ordered to apologize for 'disturbing' behaviour

Justin Altmann will also lose a month's pay after councillors accept penalties recommended in ethics report that found his CSI-style wall constituted 'workplace harassment.'

Thestar.com
Sept. 26, 2017
By Noor Javed

Whitchurch-Stouffville Mayor Justin Altmann will have to apologize, respect staff, and lose a month's pay, after fellow councillors accepted the penalties put forward in a damning ethics report that found his CSI-style wall constituted "workplace harassment."

Councillors came to the decision Tuesday evening, despite a lengthy statement from Altmann's lawyer, Hermie Abraham, suggesting the probe was biased and lacked natural justice and that the entire investigation be reviewed.

In a memo submitted to council, Altmann defended his decision to create his "mind-map" = made up of photos of staff, colleagues and members of the public connected by black lines = and responded to a number of allegations made by staff about his behaviour over the past few years.

Details of Altmann's behaviour were presented to council Tuesday by integrity commissioner Suzanne Craig, who had been investigating the wall since staff filed a complaint in March.

In her 30-page report published Friday, she concluded that Altmann's extensive CSI-wall was "vexatious" and "disturbing to staff" and amounted to a "serious incident of workplace harassment."

In her report, Craig asked council to consider such penalties as asking Altmann for a formal apology, imploring him to interact respectfully with staff and suspending his pay for 30 days. The maximum penalty under the Municipal Act is to dock an elected official three months' pay.

The mayor's salary was about $105,000 in 2015, which also included pay he received for sitting on regional council.

On Tuesday, in a packed council room that included security guards and a police presence, some councillors suggested the presentation of the report was "punitive enough."

"I believe the mayor should apologize for how he made staff feel for putting up the wall, and he should commit to creating a better work environment with staff," said Ward 5 councillor Iain Lovatt, adding docking Altmann's pay seems "unnecessarily punitive."

"I believe the fact that we are here today and have faced national scrutiny for months, and have had to listen to this report is punitive enough."

But after a lengthy in-camera meeting, councillors decided to accept all of the integrity commissioner's recommendations.

"We have to show support for our staff," said Ward 3 councillor Hugo Kroon.

The memo submitted by Altmann's lawyer tries to explain why the mayor created the wall display in the first place, saying it was his attempt to conduct a "mini-investigation" into anonymous packages he believes were sent out to the public to "discredit, threaten and harass the mayor."

According to the document, the mayor began to create the wall on Jan. 4 in his private office washroom, and included members of the public and council related to an ongoing lawsuit in the town.

"The wall was simply a mind-mapping exercise to 'connect the dots' between breached town policies, the anonymous packages, and matter with (the lawsuit)," the memo says. "It is our submission that by creating the diagram on the wall in his private bathroom, the mayor would have not anticipated, known or believed that various staff members would be entering his private bathroom for the purpose of viewing the wall."

In the memo, Altmann takes exception to additional complaints made by staff but not investigated by Craig, as they came before the code of conduct was implemented in the town.

"The very inclusion of these supplementary allegations creates a prejudice to the mayor in the minds of the reader of the final report," said Abraham.

The mayor refuted many of those allegations, including that he told a staffer he was "going to blow up this place." What he actually meant, the memo said, was that "it was time to expose the corporation" and not blow up the place with a violent meaning.

It was also alleged he told certain staff he was "their king" and they were supposed to defend him. The memo explained that the mayor used an analogy that corporations were like monarchies and lords and armies protect the interest of the king, and that "staff should ensure that council members and the mayor are protected."

It was also alleged that the mayor replaced furniture in the councillor boardroom with his own dining room furniture and when he was confronted by staff, he told them "you need to learn your place because I am the CEO of the corporation and I am your boss." His response in the memo was that there was no furniture policy in place and he was given authority and approval to do so. He admitted to yelling at the staff member and later apologized.

The mayor also took issue with a complaint that he allowed a blind therapy dog named Smiley to wear the mayoral chain of office when the dog and its owner were being honoured during the town's strawberry festival. In response, Altmann explained that Smiley had been recognized internationally and that placing the chain of office on the dog was not a show of disrespect for the mayor's office. Further, the memo said, there were no rules in place that prohibited the use of the chain of office in this manner.

When questioned about the mayor's concerns around fairness, Craig says the mayor had "reasonable opportunities to respond" and she went "beyond" her obligation in the code protocol."