It looks like the discussion of the need for a new tool for whistleblowers will have to wait until the next municipal election in October 2025.
Town of Cochrane Coun. Marni Fedeyko’s eight-month push to have new whistleblower rules considered in more detail was voted down at the regular council meeting Monday.
Administration presented a summary report on Fedeyko’s proposal dating back to January. Fedeyko brought forward a Notice of Motion at the Jan. 8 council meeting and an update was provided at the May 6 Committee of the Whole meeting. It was discussed again in June.
The recommendation that was ultimately accepted Monday was that council “receive the report for information only and direct Administration to take no further steps on a whistleblower program at this time.”
Council voted in favour of that recommendation, so discussion ends there. For now.
Coun. Morgan Nagel and Fedeyko voted against the motion.
Before the vote, Fedeyko cited a number of examples where a new whistleblower policy might be useful, especially where it might help create an environment where residents and employees may bring complaints forward “in a safe, confidential and anonymous way.”
She said she was “saddened” that every time this proposal has been brought forward, the debate circled around cost. She said the cost of the software she was envisioning was anywhere from six to eight thousand dollars.
“I’m shocked that we think that as a growing community, that this not something we think should be implemented,” she said, before urging any candidates thinking of running in the 2025 election to make new whistleblower program a part of their platforms.
Coun. Susan Flowers was against spending any more time on the idea.
“I’d like to see it resolved so we can get on with work we have to do. We only have one year left to go (until the next election),” she said.
Coun. Alex Reid called the idea redundant, since there are a number of ways people can bring complaints forward already, even though they may not be currently labelled as “whistleblower legislation.”
“I’m against the motion as well. The theme of whistleblowing is covered off,” he said.
He said that council had more pressing issues to spend their time on in this, the last year they will be together.
Mayor Jeff Genung said the software program under consideration only provided triage for complaints – it said nothing about how complaints would be investigated, and as such, it would be redundant. After complaints are received, they need to be investigated.
“If, in addition to that, we’re talking about hiring a third party investigator every single time this platform is engaged, now we’re talking thousands of dollars,” he said. “That’s the doubling down I can’t wrap my head around,” he said.
