By AmbrÖse Bierce. Gordon Ferguson, manager of bylaw enforcement for the City of Abbotsford, joins general manager of finance Pat Soanes, and general manager of economic development Jay Teichroeb, all of whom have left rather abruptly in the last few weeks, without being part of the restructuring City Manager George Murray announced which saw the elimination of nine other managerial jobs and one union job.
So far the City is not revealing the details of any severance packages or indeed whether severance packages were offered or whether the employees were severed with cause.
Both the bylaw department and the economic development department have been involved in dealing with the homeless in Abbotsford over the years but no one is saying whether or not the departure of Teichroeb and Ferguson relates directly to the Abbotsford Chicken Manure Homeless Incident, first reported on Abbotsford Today and then reported worldwide.
Ferguson reported to Teichroeb and it is hard to imagine a scenario involving the moving the homeless around or poisoning them with chicken feces or other means that would have occurred without their knowledge or involvement.
Abbotsford Today has determined that there was a meeting held to discuss the use of chicken feces to disperse the homeless people gathered across from the Salvation Army in which the Salvation Army participated but it is not known which specific bureaucrats the Sally Ann met with to discuss the idea.
With so many managers leaving the City of Abbotsford in such a short period of time the editorial staff at the local chain-owned newspapers have been left with no one to talk to about what is going on in Abbotsford and have been forced to report on traffic accidents and crime stories.
Once some new managers are hired the confused reporters are expected to get back to work writing down what they are told.
AmbrÖse Bierce
AmbrÖse Bierce
AmbrÖse Bierce is Today’s writer in residence who occasionally gives voice to the concerns of individual citizens and taxpayers who, for a variety of reasons, are unable or unwilling to take a public stand on issues of relevance to the rest of the community. Reasons may include possible loss of job, injury to their business, or any number of quite legitimate reasons to keep their mouths shut.
While all columns and letters on Today are signed by their authors, we have decided to provide this venue for those with legitimate opinions, based on fact, with something to contribute to the public debate in the city. This is not a place for wild venting or personal attacks. AmbrÖse requires you identify yourself to him and explain why you need to keep your identity secure.
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