Iqaluit council prepares to end contract with SAO
Iqaluit councillors emerged from a behind-closed-doors meeting last week with a motion to begin negotiating the departure of SAO John Raycroft.
MICHAELA RODRIGUE
Nunatsiaq News
IQALUIT — Iqaluit Town Council is preparing to end its employment contract with John Raycroft, the Town of Iqaluit’s senior administrative officer.
A council motion — passed unanimously after a behind-closed-doors meeting Sept. 14 — instructs Iqaluit lawyer Larry Reynolds “to represent the Municipality of Iqaluit to deal with the Termination of Senior Administrative Officer [sic] and that he interact with the Executive Committee of Council to approve negotiation [sic] between Senior Administrative Officer and Larry Reynolds.”
Raycroft is currently away from his job on sick leave. The last council meeting he attended was on June 15, 1999.
Raycroft’s frequent absences have left the Iqaluit council without direction or continuity, said Coun. Lynda Gunn.
“Without direction of an SAO it’s like having a ship without a captain… a ship that’s helmless,” Gunn said.
Coun. John Matthews, who seconded the motion, said the issue is “a delicate matter.”
But he said Raycroft’s absences have affected both council and the community.
“The feedback that we’ve been receiving from the community is that the SAO isn’t there when they want to deal with him,” Matthews said.
Other Town employees have filled in as acting SAO during Raycroft’s absences. Those acting SAOs have done a good job, Matthews said, but he said Iqaluit’s council needs someone with Raycroft’s knowledge and expertise.
“We can’t get the answers we need because he’s not there to provide them,” Matthews said.
And Gunn said important council work is not being done because of Raycroft’s absence.
For example, the Town has worked for two years on a strategic plan to guide town development. It still isn’t complete, Gunn said.
Two months ago, Coun. Matthew Spence proposed the creation of a new executive committee made up of the mayor, the two committee chairs, himself and Gunn. The committee was supposed to meet with Town staff and fill the void created by Raycroft’s absences.
Raycroft was hired as Iqaluit’s SAO in 1995. He left the position about a year later due to health reasons. He was eventually replaced by Sara Brown.
But Raycroft returned to Iqaluit last year after Brown left her job.
Both Gunn and Matthews stressed that Raycroft has performed well when he was on the job.
“He instilled tremendous confidence in all councillors. He guided us with wisdom and he had a great understanding of how we could best execute our job,” Gunn said.
“We really appreciated having him in the position, it’s just that he’s missed far too many council meetings.”
Matthews said the Town’s lawyers at the Reynolds and Crowley law firm will now act on the motion. He did not rule out the possibility of Raycroft returning to full-time work at the Town.
But he said one possible scenario would be for Raycroft to resign.
He doubts the Town will begin a search for a new SAO until Raycroft’s employment situation is resolved.
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