Masters stands by comments after application filed against city manager

It hasn’t even been two full days and already Regina’s proposed multi-year budget is making headlines, but not in the way you would think.

Late Wednesday, Coun. Andrew Stevens — with help from Coun. Dan LeBlanc, who’s a lawyer — and city activist Florence Stratton announced they’ll be submitting a court application aimed toward city manager Niki Anderson.

They’re doing it because they claim that during a June 15 council meeting, councillors told city administration to include direct funding for ending homelessness in the budget proposal.

But Mayor Sandra Masters says that didn’t exactly happen.

The official summary of that meeting from the city explains what was passed.

The text of the motion from June read in part “that Administration be directed to include the following in the 2023 proposed budget: 1. Full operational funding to solve homelessness throughout the City using a housing-first, supportive-housing model. This draft funding to be clearly demarcated in a line item of its own. 2. Any supplemental report required to explain the costing of point 1, above.”

Masters says she’s still stunned this is being taken to court and can’t be dealt with in the council chambers.

“I’m incredibly disappointed in what has transpired. We have mechanisms procedurally that if we have two councillors that want to address an issue with our city manager, they can get four other councillors to call a meeting,” she explained. “They chose not to do that and it is quite curious to me as to why that would be the case.”

Masters calls it atrocious that Anderson is being taken to court, especially since she only started in her role on Nov. 1.

“There is almost no words I have for this,” she said.

Masters explained the numbers council wanted during that meeting back in June are still in the budget book.

“I’ll just say again that the numbers that were requested by council that were to be debated at council are in the budget book. We do not mandate administration’s budget,” she said. “(Administration) made a recommendation, (and) they don’t recommend we fund homelessness. They’ve provided the numbers, so I’m still puzzled at what the actual issue is here.”

All the information addressing homelessness in the budget can be found on page 24 here.

Masters is calling the move made by LeBlanc and Stevens a political publicity stunt at a minimum and an awful way to treat an employee.

“It’s a proposed budget by administration. Council makes the final decision,” she stated. “Council asked for information and got it and that’s kind of what will be debated in the middle of December.”

According to Masters, she got no heads up that the court file against Anderson was coming. In fact, Masters mentioned she found out right after her Tuesday budget news conference via a text message.

She said she’s skeptical the announcement of the court file was by design and couldn’t say if Anderson had been aware of the court file coming. 980 CJME has reached out to Anderson for comment.

On Wednesday, Masters called the move by LeBlanc and Stevens “sexist” and she stood by those comments Thursday.

While two members of council are involved in the filing, Masters thinks the majority of council have Anderson’s back.

“I think from a team-building exercise, this has been in some respects kind of positive,” Masters said. “I think that every other councillor except for the two suing her came out in support for her and have expressed sympathy, empathy and encouragement. When something like this happens, people are rallying around her, so I think that’s fantastic.”

As for why they’re going to court, Masters said this on the Greg Morgan Morning Show: “I don’t know. Welcome to crazy town.”