Mayor Finnegan

The first time I met Leo Finnegan was on top of Chuckery Hill. He was just months into his new job as mayor. I was just days into mine. We had assembled for a photo op to mark the consummation of a deal with W3Connex. The rickety outfit promised it would soon bring high speed-internet access to every household in the County.

Mayor Leo Finnegan's tenure as mayor is likely to be remembered for its challenges, accomplishments and an unwavering commitment to the health and future of Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital.

It turned out to be a bad deal. The decision would eventually be challenged in the courts. Worse, W3 Connex couldn’t do what they said they could. Afew years later they would be bankrupt. Others would pick up the pieces but, seven years later, many County residents still remain without access to high speed Internet.

It was a story of not doing our homework, too much faith in the vendor and perhaps some garden variety naïveté about business and how it is done. Likely too much hope that things would turn out okay. It must be noted, too, that the deal was struck before he was elected.

There would be, however, other such stories over Finnegan’s tenure as mayor: years and hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted chasing consultants KMK down the rabbit hole on the environmental assessment of the new sewage plant in Picton; the wacky deal that will have us pay millions of dollars in leasing fees for a garage to house our three ambulances; $11 million in debt racked up in a failed accelerated roads program; not to forget the near misses, including the grand scheme to construct or reconstruct a new Shire Hall. Fortunately, Finnegan became more assertive. He became more skeptical, particularly when others made it appear there was only one way forward. He learned when the fight wasn’t worth the stakes.

In his seven years in the chair Leo Finnegan was mostly a calm, non-confrontational, consensus-building leader. Betraying his Irish lineage, Finnegan will go a long way around to avoid a good scrap. Some have said that after the hard knuckle divisiveness of former mayor Jim Taylor’s reign, we all needed a good hug—but I wasn’t here so I’m just peddling hearsay.

One can only surmise that in his tenure as head of the Essroc plant, Finnegan had the benefit of well-established business procedures, accountability and performance tools assisting him in running the plant.

But when he got to Shire Hall, the support of these business disciplines was absent.

Finnegan tells the story that Jim Taylor offered him two pieces of advice upon handing over the keys to the mayor’s office—get a chartered accountant and establish a finance committee to review how the dollars were spent.

Finnegan’s cautious natural instincts, however, prevented him from rocking the boat early on. He wanted to trust his key managers. The problem was that, six years into amalgamation, the scale and complexity of County business had swamped these key staff. With the notable exception of the clerk, the County’s top managers simply didn’t have the experience or skills in managing an organization of this size.

Finnegan pressed hard to rein in tax increases but he couldn’t muster a consensus among councillors, many of whom, lacked the stamina to wade through the numbers but insisted nevertheless the roads in their ward be rebuilt or paved that year.

So we watched in horror as property taxes rose at levels of 12 per cent and eight per cent, in a decade where the cost of living rarely nudged past two per cent per year.

He had his challenges, there is no question: but Leo Finnegan also had important achievements.

There is almost complete renewal in the top ranks of County staff—each of these newcomers has brought a high level of professionalism and competence to the business of the County. Each is making great strides in putting our financial and operational house in order, and demonstrating that their job is to serve the community rather than themselves.

The County now has not one but two chartered accountants—one as treasurer and one as finance chief. We have an audit committee consisting of council members, the mayor and citizens. The committee meets regularly to analyze spending procedures, practices and processes. Finnegan has achieved what his predecessor couldn’t get done.

Our next mayor starts from a much stronger operating platform than Finnegan did. That is not to say that the old tendencies have all been banished. The parade of Music Men tapdancing through Shire Hall these days peddling the promise of riches through solar power would only be amusing were it not for the half dozen councillors listening rapturously to the sales pitch, unable to resist signing up the municipality for these modern day trombones.

The difference now is that the County has staff that can quickly analyze the numbers and assess the credentials and track record of the folks with whom they do business, and guide council away from bad deals and bad practices. This is part of Finnegan’s legacy.

Perhaps his most significant achievement is the fact that the Picton Hospital is still a thriving hospital—still serving County residents with its uniquely human approach to health care. It is telling that over a year has passed and a noisy public meeting angrily calling for a reversal of cuts to the hospital or demanding the head of QHC.

The hospital, for the first time in a decade, appears to be on a stable footing. The immediate threat has diminished. The Family Health Team of 24 doctors and allied health care professionals in the County continues to be a leading example for such organizations in the province.

Finnegan has also been a driver of a new initiative to extend some of the concepts of the Family Health Team to the broader landscape of health care—encompassing the dozens of community and specialized agencies that provide care in the community. The Prince Edward County Alliance has been a long time incubating, but when it does hatch, many predict it will be the model for rural health care in this province.

Leo Finnegan has been a civil and decent leader these past seven years. Even when he was displeased (and the Times gave him plenty of reasons to be displeased) Mayor Finnegan remained cordial and polite. He answered his own phone and gave straight, honest answers to challenging questions. He was always available. The next mayor of Prince Edward County will have a high standard to live up to.

I suspect that Leo Finnegan’s successes will burn far brighter and for far longer than his missteps. He leaves the office of mayor in a couple of months with Shire Hall in much better shape then he found it. Surely this is the truest test of leadership in those who seek to serve our community.

He is worthy and deserving of our respect and gratitude. He can rightfully take pride his legacy as Mayor of Prince Edward County.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca