Like her predecessor three years earlier, the last deputy chief executive, who was fired from the city of Charlottetown, told councilors that her dismissal came after she expressed concerns about the city administration.
Tina Lokoko was fired by her boss, Charlottetown CEO Peter Kelly, on April 8. It was only six months after she was hired as his deputy, having previously been a lawyer and executive director of corporate services for the city of Midland in Ontario.
In an email to the council, Kelly said he was “not free to discuss details” about the reason for Lokoko’s dismissal.
But in an email to Charlottetown councilors two weeks later and received by CBC News this week, Lokoko said she had recently sent “a series of detailed confidential emails to the entire council” outlining “several areas of concern in the city.” in my professional point of view, it required the attention of the council.
“Coincidentally, the CAO stopped my work before I had the opportunity to discuss these concerns with the entire board.”
It is unclear whether all concerns Lococo has offered to discuss in private meetings with advisers are listed in an email received from CBC News.
[Peter Kelly] he simply said, “You know this doesn’t work,” and that he “stops my work immediately, for no reason, of course.” – Tina Lokoko
In that email, Lokoko said he wanted to see how the corporate culture in the mayor’s office has changed so that “all staff (current and future) can do their job properly and speak out against wrongdoing without fear of reprisals or the loss of your job. “
Second dismissed deputy to the council by email
The council, meanwhile, has not publicly responded to allegations made three years ago by Lococo predecessor Scott Meservi, which came to light this month in CBC News reports.
Meservi is an accountant who previously worked in the offices of the chief auditors of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
In his own letter to the council after he was fired by Kelly in January 2019, he said he believed his dismissal “was revenge for highlighting the significant number of problems in the town hall and Mr Kelly’s incidents in which he exceed your authority. “
Scott Meservi, pictured on his LinkedIn page, worked for Prince Edward Island’s chief auditor’s office for eight years before being hired as Charlottetown’s deputy chief administrative officer. (LinkedIn)
Meservi’s letter lists 18 specific concerns, ranging from millions of capital expenditures he said were approved by Kelly without the necessary permission from the council, to a meal he said was at the expense of a financial meeting, although the costs include alcohol and food for the husbands of some counselors.
The CBC has not substantiated these allegations.
Fired in a phone call
In an email, Lokoko told councilors that she had requested a meeting with Kelly, “to discuss my role with the city and the issues I have identified so far.”
What she received instead, Lokoko said, was a brief telephone conversation with her boss, during which her work was “unceremoniously terminated without discussion.”
Her letter continued: “He just said, ‘You know this doesn’t work’ and that ‘he stops my work immediately, for no reason, of course.'”
Lokoko told councilors immediately that she received an email from Kelly after the call – in her personal email account, as she had already been blocked from her email in the city – which said: “Your continued work in the city is not considered relevant. in the direction in which the city will move forward. “
Charlottetown City Council meets on April 25, 2022 (Shane Hennessy / CBC)
Lococo told councilors that Kelly had never given her the necessary powers “to do the job she hired me for” and said she had “failed to respond properly to my concerns about a number of issues”.
Similar concerns were expressed by Messervi, who told CBC News that Kelly was contemptuous and did not share the concerns Messervi had expressed.
Left projects
In an email, Lokoko listed 15 different projects she has been involved in, saying she hopes the city will move forward with them. Among these:
- Collaboration with the city’s lawyer to deal with the Enterprise file, a controversial deal in which the city began buying all its vehicles from an international fleet management company, bypassing local dealers.
- Conduct a “comprehensive review of city contracts, including a closer look at ongoing contracts for problems and potential solutions”.
- Addressing concerns about a “toxic work environment” at City Hall.
- Conducting organizational review and corporate restructuring of the city, including the establishment of departments for legal management and risk management and an office of the city official.
- Carry out a comprehensive review of regulations, policies and procedures.
Lokoko also mentioned in the email that he would no longer “be able to participate in the formal CAO evaluation process”.
City policy requires that all employees be reviewed at least once a year. In media reports, Mayor Philip Brown said the council had agreed that the CAO review should take place every two years.
Kelly’s last review was completed in 2019.
The mayor is “disappointed” by the leak
Lococo declined to give an interview or comment. The CBC requested interviews with Kelly and Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown. The city responded that a statement would be provided on behalf of the mayor, but no statement was issued.
In an interview after the story was first published, Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown said he was “disappointed” that Lococo’s email had been made public.
“She sent an email to 10 councilors and the mayor. And at the beginning of her email, she made it very clear that she did not want this to be shared with the public because she did not expect to be involved in this problem, “Brown said.
Brown did not want to answer questions about Lokoko’s claim that she had expressed concerns about the town hall and was subsequently fired.
“Look at the consequences we have had for Ms. Lokoko and her family,” he said of the email’s leak. “It’s very disrespectful.”
Brown said the city is “going through a process” regarding Kelly’s future as CAO.
The provincial inspection found no violation: Minister
Earlier this week, the official opposition called on the province to intervene by investigating Meservi’s allegations.
Following the request, Community Secretary Jamie Foxx told CBC News that his department had previously initiated a third-party inspection.
Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown said he was disappointed that Tina Lococo’s email had expired. (Shane Hennessy / CBC)
Fox said the review found no violation of the PEI Municipal Governance Act. But the review was never made public and Fox did not provide additional information.
Both count. Bob Doyron, who met with Fox in 2019 to discuss Messervey’s concerns, and the mayor told CBC News they were unaware of the review.
The questions “became personal”: Kelly’s statement
In a letter of resignation provided by Kelly to Messervey in 2019, filed as part of a dismissal dispute in the PEI Supreme Court, Kelly wrote that he fired his deputy “as a result of a failed probationary period.”
He cited concerns about Messervey’s interactions with staff and board members, saying some officials said Messervey was “looking for mistakes instead of trying to work with them to achieve city and departmental goals.”
Charlottetown’s CAO Peter Kelly has been mayor of Halifax for 12 years, ending his protests amid protests over a failed concert series. (Laura Mider / CBC)
In a response letter, Meservi disputed this, saying his efforts were “aimed solely at improving urban operations”.
Regarding Kelly’s response to CBC’s earlier history of Messervy, he sent a statement saying: “Unfortunately, the questions have become personal and I will seek advice to ensure that my responsibilities, along with others are observed.
“The administration, as well as my personal character, has been called into question and needs to be addressed.
Before coming to Charlottetown in May 2016, Kelly spent two years as a CAO for Westlock County in northern Alberta. His stay there led to a provincial review, which concluded that he had authorized extra-budgetary expenditures without the proper approval of the council.
He was previously mayor of Halifax Regional Community from 2000 to 2012.
During this time, he supported the clean-up of Halifax Harbor, apologized to Afrikales and helped the city host the 2011 Canadian Winter Games. But he was also embroiled in controversy over the cost of a failed concert series.
If you have information about this story or news advice to share with CBC Prince Edward Island, please email kerry.campbell@cbc.ca or compass@cbc.ca.
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