Peter Kelly is in the process of resigning from his disputed office as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the city of Charlottetown, the SaltWire Network has learned.
Sources told SaltWire that Kelly will retire, but there is no official announcement yet, as the process is in the hands of legal advisers.
Kelly was hired as CAO in 2016 by the former council with Clifford Lee as mayor.
None of the advisers SaltWire contacted after learning of the upcoming departure will comment on the recording, although one elected official said the council was not called in to discuss the issue.
Another source said the exit may not take effect immediately, that there may be a transition period.
Peter Kelly, right, Charlottetown’s chief administrative officer, is pictured in the photo in this file, which leads to Mayor Philip Brown. – SaltWire Network file image
Calls to Mayor Philip Brown on April 28 were not returned. In addition, city officials did not comment. Requests were also made to talk to Kelly.
If Kelly leaves, he does so amid a whirlwind of problems with hot buttons at City Hall.
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Deputy Chief Executive Officers fired
Earlier this month, he fired deputy chief executive Tina Lokoko, about six months after she was hired.
In an email to councilors, Kelly said she was unable to reveal the reasons for her dismissal.
Before Lococo’s term, three years ago, Kelly fired CAO Deputy Scott Meservi just a year after he was hired.
Mesarvi has filed a lawsuit against the city, which is still before the PEI Supreme Court, claiming he has been fired for raising financial concerns.
“I am not surprised by your decision to terminate my work, as I have addressed many questions and your answers to them leave us in conflict,” Meservi wrote in court documents in support of his lawsuit.
“I have brought to your attention several capital projects that had orders to change the value of millions of dollars, which led to exceeding the tender for approval,” writes Messervey. “The change orders were carried out without the approval of the council, but with yours. I believe that this is also a problem for the observance of the law on (the Law on Municipal Government) and an example of exceeding the powers. “
Scott Messervi, left, a former deputy chief administrative officer in the city of Charlottetown, and former councilor Melissa Hilton, are looking at some financial figures for 2019. – Photo of the SaltWire Network file
In his letter of dismissal, which was also filed in court, Kelly told Meservi that he had been fired “as a result of a failed probationary period.”
Kelly lists several reasons for Messervi’s dismissal, namely that the former DCAO lacked leadership skills, communication style and a holistic approach to staff and managers.
While Kelly is hired by and responsible for the city council, the CAO oversees the hiring and firing of his deputies.
Violation of harassment policy
In 2018, Kelly was forced to undergo workplace sensitivity training after an investigation found he had violated the capital’s harassment policy. The violations include allegations that Kelly imposed unreasonable discipline on the city’s chief of public affairs, that he imposed discipline for no reason twice, and that he tried to demote the chief.
As a result of the investigation, Kelly had to undergo workplace sensitivity training with a focus on communications and interactions with city staff. Kelly also had a formal written warning permanently in her personal file.
Peter Kelly, left, with then-Mayor Clifford Lee, was hired by the city of Charlottetown to be its new chief administrative officer in 2016. – Photo of the SaltWire Network file
Lee said at the time: “The public can be assured that Charlottetown City Council remains confident in CAO Peter Kelly’s decisions.
Kelly arrived in 2016 with some negative allegations from a previous job at Halifax, while he was mayor there from 2000-12 and from Westlock County, Alta, where he was CAO.
Kelly is alleged to have misused municipal funds in pursuit of Halifax Commons concerts and a development project in Alberta.
The allegations were never proven in court and in Alberta the RCMP chose not to investigate.
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