Hatch Says Basse's Report is "a Disgrace"

Integrity Report Is A Disgrace June 11, 2012  by Brian Hatch

The long awaited Integrity Report regarding the conduct of Mayor Bratina was received on Friday June 6, 2012. Before elaborating on why the eight page report that had a gestation period of 172 days is disgraceful, three facts need to be remembered. 

First, at no time in the four allegations contained in my affidavit do I mention the mayor’s Chief of Staff Peggy Chapman’s former rate of pay. At no time in the allegations do I mention the magnitude of the raise or the percentage of the increase. At no time do I mention Ms. Chapman’s current rate of pay.


Second, on Dec. 21, 2011 at the start of my meeting with Commissioner Basse, I stated that my complaint was strictly related to Bratina’s actions and comments concerning the raise. I stated I did not know what the appropriate rate of pay was for the mayor’s Chief of Staff nor did I know if Chapman’s performance was above, below or at an acceptable level. None of these factors concerned my complaint. I did comment that in times of restraint, when all governments are trying to balance budgets with a zero % tax increases, nobody paid from the public purse, at any level of government is entitled to a 33% increase. At the end of our
meeting I again stated that my allegations were not about the size of the raise or Chapman’s new pay level, they were only about the mayor’s conduct.

Third it’s important to remember the mayor’s comments during the City of Hamilton Council Meeting on Dec. 14, 2011. The discussion on the raise given to Peggy Chapman by Mayor Bratina starts at 2:05 and continues until 2:41 (36 minutes). Mayor Bratina speaks from 2:21 until 2:33. I urge everyone interested to go to the city of Hamilton website and watch the video because the mayor’s comments were both bizarre and of concern. Bizarre because he mentions several things such as the accomplishments of council and the 2007 council pay raises that have absolutely nothing to do with the raise he gave Peggy Chapman. At 2:24 he states the raise will have “no impact on the taxpayer” and then at 2:25 he states “the public has a right to know because they are paying for it”. He goes on at great length to explain how lean his staff is and how much of his budget he has not spent. He states the taxpayers should thank him for saving so much money. His performance was all smoke and mirrors full of red herrings. I believe his statements were an attempt to muddy the water to deflect criticism.

Mr. Basse states in his report that he received a written response from Mayor Bratina. I can only assume based on the investigation section of Basse’s report that the mayor’s written response like his performance at the council meeting was full of red herrings that Basse swallowed hook, line and sinker.

More about the report later but first let’s be clear that my allegations concern the fact that Mayor Bratina lied. He lied to his colleagues on council. He lied to city staff. He lied to the media. He lied to all of the citizens of Hamilton. The big “L” word has been the elephant in the room that many chose not to see including, judging by most of his report, Commissioner Basse. Even more repugnant is the fact that the mayor’s statements were an attempt to deflect the outrage of the citizens of Hamilton from himself for political benefit. His comments shifted the blame onto innocent city staff. He is their leader and the city’s staff has the legitimate right to expect that he will both defend and support them. Councillor Merulla stated in the council meeting that the mayor “threw the HR department under the bus”.

So why is the eight page report disgraceful and almost worthless? The first two and a half pages simply restate the Code of Conduct and my four allegations. The next two and a half pages are the smoke and mirrors section of the investigation. What does the staffing level in the mayor’s office in 2005 have to do with the fact that the mayor lied in Dec. 2011? What does the salary grade level of the Chief of Staff have to do with the fact that the mayor lied? What does the fact that the city uses the Mercer Survey have to do with the fact that the mayor lied? What does the job description of the Mayor’s Chief of Staff have to do with the fact that the mayor lied? The answer to all of these questions is absolutely nothing.

Even more bizarre is the following paragraph in the report on page 5:

“It is significant to note that in 2011, the Actual Salary Expense for the Mayor's Office was $313,379 compared to $595,496 in 2010, a reduction of $282,117. It is also significant to note that the Actual Salary Expense for 2011 was under budget by $345,556 and the Actual Salary Expense for 2011 was significantly smaller than any of the Actual Salary Expense for the Mayor's Offices between 2003 and 2011.” Does the Integrity Commissioner really believe that because the mayor did not spend his budget it is acceptable for him to lie and shift the blame onto innocent city staff? I for one think not.

The first eighty percent of the Investigation section of the report is the part where Basse with his tummy full of red herrings was lead out into deep left field where he completely missed the bus. It is not until over half way down page 6 that the commissioner finally states that some of the mayor’s statements were not accurate. 

Interesting also at the very bottom of page 6 is the statement: “Mayor Bratina states that at no time did he intentionally attempt to lay the blame on HR for the significant raise in salary given to his Chief of Staff as a result of the re-classification of the position.” So according to Basse the mayor does acknowledge he did throw the HR department under the bus but it was just not intentional. 

Allegation four is addressed in the report on page 7 and on this point Basse and I will need to agree to disagree. I would point out that we know the pay levels of many city employees including most making less than $100,000 such as councillors, police officers, firemen, etc. The union even publishes the pay levels for their various grades. In addition, if employment law does preclude the mayor from discussing the salary of his staff, was he breaking the law when he spoke to Laura Babcock on The O Show?

Laura’s June 10th email to me is as follows:

“Incidentally I was the first person in the media the mayor spoke to directly regarding the raise and saying HR instigated it. Our show broke the story. The integrity commissioner never bothered to speak to me or even contact me in any way for my info or anyone on our show. Makes me wonder how thorough an investigation was conducted.
Cheers
L”

In the Findings section of the report Basse does find that “Mayor Bratina violated Section 13.2(b) of the Code of Conduct”. Basse also found that the mayor’s comments were not “malicious or deliberate”. I agree that the mayor’s comments were not malicious, but given that the mayor tried to blame the HR Staff when he spoke on The O Show and again when he spoke to the Spectator and again in the council meeting sounds very deliberated to me. Basse also imposes the penalty of a Reprimand and I am not sure what that means. Given the mayor was censured by Council on March 28th what form will this Reprimand take? Are we to have another motion to censure by Council? I guess we will all just have to wait and see.

Basse also found that my complaint was neither vexatious nor frivolous and therefore I get my $100.00 back. For this I say thank you. 

Brian Hatch
Ancaster

To read the report for yourself, click here.

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