Saskatoon's fire chief and its police chief are retiring amid a homeless crisis, and Mayor Charlie Clark may decide against running again.
Organizations without turnover risk stagnation. Yet too much turnover threatens stability.
At Saskatoon city hall, some turnover happens organically with retirements. Some people leave for other opportunities and others get pushed for reasons that mostly remain confidential.
Sometimes these departures get a lot of attention, and for others we’re left to ponder why key officials who departed quietly are still being paid large sums of money the year after they left. (Most can figure this out.)
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We learned this week that fire Chief Morgan Hackl will retire early next year after eight years leading the fire department and 26 years after he became a Saskatoon firefighter.
Hackl is only the fourth Saskatoon fire chief since 1990, after long stints by Bill Hewitt (12 years) and Brian Bentley (nine) and a short one by Dan Paulsen, who preceded Hackl.
Saskatoon has had seven police chiefs during that same time span, so the fire department has boasted pretty consistent leadership.
But Saskatoon is also looking for a new police chief after Troy Cooper announced he was retiring after six years as chief, partly due to his health after a heart attack in the spring.
The chair of Saskatoon’s board of police commissioners, Jo Custead, is also departing at the end of her six-year term.
Cooper and Hackl are leaving their critical positions after long careers.
But the timing seems unfortunate, given the challenges Saskatoon faces right now. A spring survey commissioned by city hall showed respondents ranked homelessness as the top issue.
While the ultimate responsibility for homelessness lies with the province, Saskatoon’s fire and police departments are often forced to deal with the reality of a growing crisis.
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Similarly, with Saskatoon moving toward a so-called bus rapid transit transformation — granted, at the pace of a bus with four flat tires — it’s also an inopportune time for a new director at Saskatoon Transit.
But that’s where we’re at after Jim Puffalt departed just a few months after he was hired. Puffalt was hired to replace Jim McDonald, who left amid an audit of transit operations last year. Mike Moellenbeck now takes the wheel after 11 years with Saskatoon Transit.
Another key figure also left quietly as city hall pursues a downtown arena district: the former CEO of SaskTel Centre, Will Lofdahl, who possesses an invaluable background for a city pursuing this sort of venture.
Instead, Lofdahl is working for the exhibition association in Regina, helping that city explore a potential new arena.
No public reason was given for Lofdahl’s departure, although he earned more from the City of Saskatoon the year he left, $213,444 for a half year in 2021, than he did his last full year and was paid another $134,275 last year.
A bunch of departures at the same time can not only shake the foundation of an organization, they can also cost a bundle (although much of this money is owed regardless).
In 2018, half of the city’s top 10 earners were officials who had left employment with the city, including former city manager Murray Totland, former police chief Clive Weighill, former general manager Randy Grauer, former Remai Modern CEO Gregory Burke and former city solicitor Patricia Warwick.
In addition to the turnover in city hall administration, Mayor Charlie Clark did nothing earlier this month to dispel the perception that he will opt against seeking a third term next year.
When asked if the recently passed two-year budget — with hefty property tax increases of six per cent next year and 5.64 per cent in 2025 — was his last, Clark laughed and deflected.
Public institutions like city hall are built for political turnover, but there is precious little in Saskatoon, with only five mayors since disco ruled and incumbent councillors nearly invulnerable to defeat.
And Clark’s potential departure seems likely to include his influential chief of staff Michelle Beveridge, who some jokingly call the real city manager.
Those big shoes to fill at city hall could soon seem cavernous.
Phil Tank is the digital opinion editor at the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
ptank@postmedia.com
twitter.com/thinktankSK
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