Mayor and council violated a city bylaw when firing their most recent CAO

When Windsor's mayor and city councillors voted 7-4 in favour of firing CAO Jason Reynar, they contravened a city bylaw by not providing a hearing he was entitled to before the dismissal, CBC News has learned.

During an in-camera meeting on March 31, seven members of city council voted to remove Reynar from the city's top administrative position, which was made public the following day. Councillors Kieran McKenzie, Fabio Costante, Chris Holt and Rino Bortolin voted against the motion, according to documents summarizing the in-camera meeting.

A City of Windsor bylaw created in 2002 states it's the "right of the chief administrative officer to a hearing before council" if there's interest in suspending or dismissing that person.

Sources tell CBC News that Reynar wasn't given the option of a hearing before he left. No documents exist at city hall referencing any hearings related to Reynar's departure, according to a Freedom of Information request filed by CBC News.

"Any citizen should be concerned that rules, forms and laws as established and written be followed because that is a healthy democratic practise," said Tom Urbaniak, a professor of political science at Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia. "If a bylaw is in force, then council has to be vigilant and thorough and do its due diligence to ensure that the bylaw is adhered to."

It's unclear if the mayor and city administration weren't aware of the four-page bylaw that entitled any CAO to a hearing. Neither the city or mayor's office responded to questions about the bylaw or the dismissal.

"A mutual non-disparagement agreement between Corporation of Windsor and former CAO has been executed, so beyond the obvious HR protected lens, this further limits public communications on this topic," said Andrew Teliszewsky, the mayor's chief of staff.

"The city doesn't comment on personnel matters," said Jason Moore, the city's senior manager of communications.

No matter the reason for the bylaw being contravened, Urbaniak said there's no excuse. He doesn't expect members of council to memorize every bylaw that exists, but said it's reasonable to expect the city solicitor would provide advice when making a "major decision" such as dismissing a CAO.

"Ignorance would be absolutely no defence in a case like this," he said. 

There were 11 people in attendance during the in-camera meeting — city clerk Steve Vlachodimos, all 10 councillors and Mayor Drew Dilkens. The city's solicitor and other members of the corporate leadership team were not present to answer questions of council.

The meeting also didn't include any written reports for council, but rather a verbal report from Dilkens about the reasons for Reynar's dismissal. Sources tell CBC News the mayor called members of council prior to the unscheduled in-camera meeting to discuss the issue.

Others said what happened in Windsor could expose taxpayers to more liability.

"Certainly if a municipality wasn't following its own bylaw, as an example, there may be ramifications in relation to settlements at the end of the day," said David Arbuckle, executive director for the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO).