Sir: Surprise! Surprise. Chatham-Kent’s highest paid employees are caught red-handed gorging at the public trough once again. Special thanks to John Cryderman – one of Chatham-Kent’s unsung heroes – for discovering this one.
C-K Police Chief Gary Conn, who already holds a masters degree, feels that an even higher designation of “Doctor of Education” is an appropriate addition for his job as police chief, and, what’s worse, C-K taxpayers will fund the entire amount of this education upgrade to the tune of $35,000.
Conn defends this expense by saying that his doctor’s thesis on “performance appraisals and their relevance to policing” will benefit his job and the local police service.
While nothing illegal or corrupt is taking place here, this latest discovery most certainly has a stench of inappropriateness to it. First off, I’m pretty certain that you will find C-K taxpayers are already paying a number of professional HR staff quite well to manage the task of performance appraisals.
Second, as John Cryderman has suggested, this expense is much more likely to benefit Chief Conn in his post-retirement career given that Chief Conn will only have to put in a few more years of service to reach retirement tenure after he completes the doctor’s program.
Thirdly, Chief Conn is the third highest paid public employee in Chatham-Kent, making over $215,000 annually (as per the 2018 Sunshine List) and the fact that these unreasonable levels of benefits are also provided is an absolute insult to the hard-working people of this community. (And please, save the horse doo-doo excuse about this being what it takes to keep or attract good candidates to the job.)
What should disappoint and concern taxpayers even more is the fact that these things do not happen in isolation or without others knowing. The Chatham-Kent Police Board, which exists to provide “civilian governance and accountability” approved this expense and is on record saying that the chief’s contract allows for not just one, but even a second “personal development opportunity” like this per year.
This is the same “accountable” board that just recently approved an equally disturbing upgrade to Chief Conn’s personal vehicle – also provided for in his contract by taxpayers.
In an in-camera session – without the input or knowledge of taxpayers or even our elected council – they allowed the chief to upgrade from a Ford Explorer to a luxury Chevy Tahoe SUV. What? Seriously?
Is this their version of “civilian” oversight and “accountability?”
OK, so the contract allows for a taxpayer-funded vehicle at a “reasonable cost” providing “suitable transportation,” but clearly these people – all of them – interpret these terms quite differently than us common folk.
(Editor’s note: Chief Conn is to receive a vehicle allowance, and will no longer have a company vehicle.)
A doctorate degree for a community police chief is no more a “reasonable” and “suitable” expense that Chatham-Kent taxpayers should have to fund than a personal luxury SUV is. Neither of these benefits is necessary to do the job at hand, at least not to the extent they are being provided. Taxpayers expect accountability and responsibility, not entitlement and immunity.
There will be others in the proximity of “these people” that are either equal participants, enabling it to happen, or in knowledge of it and simply ignoring it. And there will be other people inside these public organizations who are trying or have tried to do something about it, I am sure.
It’s this latter group along with concerned citizens that need to step forward and raise their voices to bring about change. Contact your local member of council, call the mayor, write a letter, do something.
John Cryderman cannot do this alone. Let Chief Conn and his enablers know that this is not the kind of “culture” that C-K should tolerate or can afford. Remember, these people work for us, the voting taxpayer.
Rick Youlton
Chatham-Kent
