A petition calling for an independent investigation of Grimsby's CAO is gaining steam.
As of 10 a.m. this morning, almost 1,000 people have signed a Change.org petition asking provincial officials to look into the hiring of Harry Schlange, his personal relationship with a councillor, and the recent dismissal of several town employees.
Organizer Mark Kossek says they are asking for transparency and more attention to municipal politics.
"We don't even have a recall mechanism for poor council, or poor council decisions. Once they get voted in there is no provincial recall mechanism to sit there and say, 'We're holding you accountable. You haven't done what you said you were going to do. We want to install people who can.'"
During a council meeting at the beginning of this month, Grimsby Mayor Jeff Jordan announced three senior staff members had been fired by the CAO.
"We're asking for transparency." Kossek explains. "Shortly before they fired all the staff, they were getting accolades and praise from the very same council and the CAO for the job they were doing. And then all of a sudden they just wholesale get fired all on the same day for really no reason."