Winnipeg's CAO urges councillors to wait for his performance review

Winnipeg's chief administrative officer said a formal review process, rather than a council meeting, is the appropriate place for councillorsto determine how well he's doing his job.

Six of Winnipeg's 16 elected officials the entirety of council's unofficial opposition supported a move earlier this monthto suspend CAODoug McNeil. South Winnipeg-St. Norbert Coun. Janice Lukes needed a total of nine signatures to trigger a special meeting of council to discuss his performance.

After her gambit failed, she said she plans to bring a notice of motion to the Jan. 25 council meeting in an effort to trigger a similar debate about McNeil at the Feb. 22 meeting.

• Lukesfails in bid to suspendCAO, but will try again in February

In his first comments to reporters in 2018, McNeil urged councillors to allow him to undergo a formal performance review by a panel of city councillors.

"That's the appropriate place for that to occur," McNeil said Wednesday at city hall following the first executive policy committee meeting of the new year.

The city is about to review the performance of all four of its statutory officers, who report directly to city council. Along with McNeil, that list includes city auditor Bryan Mansky, chief financial officer Mike Ruta and city clerk Richard Kachur, who plans to retire from the city in March.

McNeil suggested some of the desire to hold him to account at council may have more to do with politics than his own performance.

Winnipeg is entering a municipal election year.

"It was unanimous, my hiring, two years ago. Did I expect that I would be able to please all 16 individuals throughout my term here? No," McNeilsaid.

"There's a lot of politics playing here, as you know, and it may not be directed at me, completely."

Lukes has complained the performance-review process will be toothless, because there are no benchmarks for the CAO.

Along with Couns. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) and Russ Wyatt (Transcona), she has complained that McNeil will not answer more questions about the Sterling Lyon Parkway extension.

McNeilsaid he has deferred those questions to an internal city audit that Charleswood-Tuxedo-Whyte Ridge Coun. Marty Morantz wants to see complete before the election in October.

• No 'public whiplashing' of city officials, Morantz vows as he prepares to call Sterling Lyon Parkway audit

Morantzintended to call for this audit at Wednesday'sexecutive policy committee meeting, but was absent due to what McNeil said was an illness.

The call for the audit is now expected to be made at the next EPC meeting on Jan. 17.

"In my opinion, it's basically going to prove out all the things that I've been saying about this project," McNeil said.

"I don't want this to be a witch hunt, so it's not appropriate for me to hand out a list of all the people who worked on this project. As Coun. Morantz said yesterday, there is no one person that is involved in this project.

"We did drop the ball on it. We corrected it going forward and the audit will give you all the answers."

• City CAO told about Sterling Lyon expropriations a year ago, confidential briefing note says
• Mayor says he remains confident inCAO Doug McNeil
• Former public works director breaks silence, calls Sterling Lyon Parkway claims 'laughable'

In October, McNeil said he was surprised a proposed Sterling Lyon extension route differed from three options presentedin January 2016 to people living south of Wilkes Avenue.

In December, a briefing note obtained by CBC News demonstrated the CAO was presented with drawings about this route in November 2016. McNeil said he did not read the drawings.