Keeping Investigations Fair and Independent

by: Jennifer Beard

Third‑party investigations are becoming an important tool for municipalities because they support fairness, reduce pressure on staff, and help with good decision‑making. When a complaint or conflict comes in, it adds stress to an already full workload. It can also create tension between Council, staff, and the public if people worry the process isn’t neutral. Bringing in an independent investigator helps avoid those concerns and keeps the process clear and consistent.

In small communities, it’s hard to separate professional roles from personal relationships. Administrators and Council members often know each other well, and even when everyone acts professionally, people may still assume bias. An outside investigator removes that worry. They review the complaint objectively, apply the rules consistently, and document their findings clearly and defensibly. This protects everyone involved and protects the municipality’s reputation.

Investigations also take time. They involve interviews, paperwork, follow‑up, and careful review. When administrators are already managing day‑to‑day operations, adding an investigation can slow down other priorities. A third‑party investigator keeps the file moving, communicates with everyone involved, and provides a complete report. This lets administrators stay focused on running the municipality while still ensuring the complaint is handled properly.

Council benefits as well. Council needs accurate, unbiased information to make decisions. A third‑party report gives them a clear summary of what happened, verified facts, and recommendations based on policy and legislation. This helps Council make decisions that are fair, defensible, and less likely to be challenged.

Residents expect their municipality to handle concerns fairly. When someone outside the organization reviews complaints, it shows the municipality takes the issue seriously and is committed to transparency. It also shows that decisions are based on facts rather than personal relationships or politics. This builds trust in both Council and Administration.

Third‑party investigations are not about escalating conflict. They manage sensitive situations responsibly. They help municipalities reduce risk, protect staff and elected officials, and maintain clear and consistent processes. For administrators, they offer reassurance that every complaint is handled professionally and respectfully, and that the municipality is meeting its responsibilities to the community.

For more information on our Code of Ethics Investigations, visit: Our Services | Matthewson & Co.

The Assumption of Leadership Within Municipal Government is Hindering Regional Economic Development

by Lorri Matthewson

I took "leadership" as a course while studying for my MBA. I loved our professor, who opened the first class on the first day by asserting that leadership could not be taught. He believed that leadership traits were developed young and emerged on the playground. He may have had a point.

After years of experience working with Councils, I've come to understand that being on Council does not, by itself, equip a person to lead. Council is legislated to the eyeballs, and its first loyalty is always to its own community. It has to be. Yet traditional economic expectations are that municipal councils need to work together to build the region. I suggest that municipal councils with small populations are an important part of regional development, but shouldn't be expected to lead it. Let me explain.

Holding a position on council is tough everywhere but uniquely tough in small populations. It is a 24-hour-a-day proposition of near-constant surveillance and criticism, just to meet the mandate of the Municipalities Act. There is little financial compensation, and one unpopular, even necessary decision affects how your kids experience school, how you engage in the public and how the locals support your businesses. Council is a job for people who understand the legislation that governs them and who make and support policy, bylaws, resolutions, and motions that work within that legislation, and together make decisions that deliver the best possible outcomes for their communities. As a result, risk tolerance is naturally low.

In fact, natural-born leaders often have a difficult time on Council because they let their name stand, hoping to make a real difference, only to find out that between the legislated responsibilities, restricted budgets, funding requirements, conflict of interest, code of ethics rules, being outvoted and duty of loyalty, they simply don't have the autonomy to lead the way they personally see fit.

Councillors do better when they follow the rules because so many rules are designed to protect the community from an entrepreneur's crazy high risk tolerance and to protect themselves from liability. We, as service providers, have to respect the limits of that position and stop pressuring Councils to take leadership roles in regional economic development. Their mandates, resources, and legislation allow and support them to take an active role in local economic development, but they don't have the resources to become a regional lead.

On the rare occasion one municipality emerges as the economic development lead, the municipalities it leads eventually revolt because they compete and compare. It doesn't sustain. We've tried, we've seen it, and we do the same things over and over and over. It hasn't worked. We provide more information to get municipalities to agree to work together, while ignoring the fact that municipal councils have a designated role to act in the best interest of their own municipality. They agree that regional economic development is important; they mostly agree they have a part to play, but I haven't met one yet who agrees it is their job to lead the region.

So, Matthewson & Company decided to lead. We'll do that by finding other leaders and supporting them within their region to create a regional economic development plan. We created four main pillars to guide our work: housing, business, economic development, and tourism. We will build the bridges, support the work, and see what happens.

Hey, it might not work either, but what if it does?

So, we invite you to keep an eye out while we launch our two test regional support systems, one in the Turtle Mountains and one in Southeast Saskatchewan, where Matthewson & Co. is planning to fill the gap, funded entirely by those who want to benefit from such a thing. If you want to learn more, email me. LorriMatthewson@smallplacesrock.com

Bullying is Not Leadership--And It Should Go Without Saying

By Lorri Matthewson

Founder/Lead Consultant

Matthewson & Co.

In local government, especially in small communities, leadership is supposed to mean steadiness, respect, and service. It should go without saying that bullying has no place in council chambers, yet here I am, still needing to say it out loud.

We do so many training webinars, and it always comes up....my council won't...and I try to tell them, but when I do, they get mad. Sometimes they threaten to fire me. Sometimes, they do. And this isn't subtle bullying...this is in-your-face retaliation directed towards some administrators for simply attempting to do their jobs.

In small populations, everyone knows everyone. When a councilor belittles staff, mocks colleagues, uses their position to intimidate, or uses aggression to "win", it affects the whole municipality. People see it, they talk about it, and they lose trust in their entire council. Once the trust goes, that lack of trust can follow election after election.

There are too many out there that thing being aggressive, yelling at council tables, threatening staff with being fired, calling administrators incompetent, and following staff around to make sure they are doing their jobs is not only abusive, but it would never be tolerated in any other workforce.

Bullying is the shortcut people use when they don't have the skills or the willingness to lead collaboratively. If one needs to make someone feel small to make oneself feel effective, one is no leader. A single councilor behaving badly can destabilize an entire administration.

Worse though? Is watching it happen and saying nothing. Every councilor has a responsibility to hold up their end. Leadership means stepping in.

It is the bare minimum to treat people with respect, follow the rules, respect the staff, work as a team, and behave like competent adults.

Residents expect their council to model the behavior they want to see in their community. When our municipal leaders act like bullies, they are giving permission to everyone else to behave likewise. The municipal council job is too important.