City employees and contractors doing work for the City are now protected under a whistleblower policy.
If they make an allegation of wrongdoing within the city, they won’t have to worry about being reprimanded or fired.
Although the Swan City chose not to be covered under the province’s policy, Mayor Bill Given says it only make sense to have their own in place.
“Staff and contractors for the City can feel comfortable in bringing forward concerns that they have about operations or if they see mismanagement or waste. They need to know that there is an outlet for them to express that concern without fear of retribution or harm to their employment.”
The policy was approved at last night’s city council meeting, with one vote against.
If a claim is made, it’s handled by the City Manager, who brings it to a board, but Councillor Chris Thiessen was concerned they’re wasn’t enough clarity about who would investigate the City Manager themselves.
“In our policy it states that the City Manager is running everything. I have total faith in our hiring policies, I just think that it should reflect, not only in our policies, but also in our procedures what to do in case we might, some time in the future, run into somebody who’s corrupt.”
During last night’s city council meeting, it was brought up that council only dictates policy, and not procedure, and that there would be a designate in the event a City Manager crossed a line.