Kamloops mayor's office moving to basement away from city staff

The office of Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson is being relocated to the basement of city hall.

The mayor's office has long been located on the main floor. It is close to staff and a shared council area and is steps away from council chambers.

The mayor's new office will be relocated downstairs to an unused boardroom in a vacant area without staff. The mayor will have his own door and street access but will not have access to the rest of city hall. 

This is the latest in a string of steps taken by the council against the mayor, including stripping him of his duties as a city spokesperson, removing him from the Thompson Nicola Regional District board and Shuswap Watershed Council and docking his pay by 10 per cent.

Kamloops city councillor and deputy mayor Mike O'Reilly says the mayor was notified of his office relocation on Oct. 3. O'Reilly says the mayor has until Oct. 22 to remove his belongings from his current workspace. If he does not vacate the space, his belongings will be removed, and door fobs will be changed, O'Reilly says.

O'Reilly says the decision was made following a safety and security report that was completed in the spring. The city has not previously disclosed details of a safety audit conducted at city hall by an outside contractor. CBC News filed a freedom of information request and obtained a copy of the report, but it was heavily redacted. The text available to CBC News made no mention of moving the mayor's office.

"This is not a sanction that is being imposed by council," O'Reilly said. "It is a protective measure to shield our staff to ensure that workplace safety is in accordance with the city's legal obligations."

Mayor says he was unaware of decision to move him

Hamer-Jackson was unaware of the decision to relocate his office when CBC News reached him for comment on Thursday morning. He maintains he has done nothing wrong and asked for proof of wrongdoing. He said his office on the main floor has already been cordoned off from staff.

"I'd like to come and show you again the area I work in and you can see clearly that I don't have any direct contact with any employees," he said.

"So I don't know where this is coming from."

Hamer-Jackson says he is not surprised by the move, given the recent sanctions by council. He says he will likely work from home.

O'Reilly says there are currently four active WorkSafeBC complaints against the mayor from city staff. He would not speak to details of the WorkSafeBC investigations. CBC News reached out to WorkSafeBC for comment and was told to file a freedom of information request.

The city's chief administrative officer, David Trawin, has been on leave since March, and it is unclear when or if he will return to work. O'Reilly would not comment on whether Trawin's leave is connected to the WorkSafe investigations or whether Trawin will return to work. 

The city had also previously taken measures to restrict access to staff utilizing a key fob system. O'Reilly said measures to date have not gone far enough.

"The measures that we took did not deter his [the mayor's] behaviour. His inappropriate conduct toward staff continues, and our staff continue to feel unsafe at work because of the mayor's behaviour, and that exposes the city to legal risk," O'Reilly said.

O'Reilly did not provide more details about which aspects of the mayor's behaviour he was referring to.

Council called for mayor's resignation in May

In May, city council formally called for Hamer-Jackson's resignation after a scathing report from a provincially appointed municipal adviser criticized his behaviour toward council and city staff.

The report said the mayor had shown "a dismissive and condescending attitude towards constructive criticism" and that his treatment of staff may have led to an unsafe work environment.

O'Reilly said the safety assessment that led to the mayor's office being moved and was conducted by Lions Gate Risk Management Group. The redacted report obtained by CBC is dated May 7, 2024. Recommendations have been blacked out, but the report does discuss the process undertaken, including a survey of city staff about their feelings of safety in the workplace.

The city has also, in recent months, added up to three community service officers inside and outside council chambers during council meetings due to escalating incidents with the public, including the recent adjournment of a council meeting after pornographic images were shown on the screen during a public comment period.