One of three people who recently resigned from the Stephenville town council is pointing his finger directly at the mayor for what he claims is a chaotic situation on council.
Mayor Tom Rose recently dismissed concerns over the exodus of the three councilors and chief administrative officer (CAO).
(Stephenville Mayor Tom Rose shown recently with the airport’s new owner, Carl Dymond.)
But one of those former councilors, Lenny Tiller, is speaking out, expressing his frustration over what he describes as a dysfunctional workplace.
He’s calling on Occupational Health and Safety to have a look at what’s happening, claiming that staff are being bullied and intimidated.
“We’ve lost three CAOs in over two years, we’ve lost a manager of public works who’s now working for the City of St. John’s,” he said.
“There’s numerous times where staff are so upset that they have to go on sick leave because of the way things are being managed. Most of the fights we had were over process, and that process has gone to the wayside for some reason to just complete anarchy.”
As for the future of the town’s airport, Tiller says the only one who appears to believe the ambitious plans of the new owner is the mayor.
“The commentary that has come out about the naysayers in the public is ludicrous, because at the end of the day nobody told the purchaser to offer and promise what he promised,” says Tiller.
“That was on him, that was on the mayor supporting those comments. I hope they can do it. I hope in 20 years there are drones flying around Stephenville, and there are commercial flights. But right now there’s no evidence of it. Over the past two years it’s been promise, after promise, after promise, and nothing has come to fruition that we know of as a council.”
