The city of London is suddenly in the market for a new city manager.
Art Zuidema was let go on Tuesday. A news release sent out at midnight confirmed Zuidema was no longer with the city effective Feb. 14, 2017.
Martin Hayward, managing director of corporate services, city treasurer and chief financial officer, has been appointed acting city manager.
It’s unclear whether Zuidema was let go or whether he quit, but his departure from city hall brings to end a tumultuous career in London.
Zuidema, who lived in Brantford while working in London, was hired in August 2012 after a consultant was hired to conduct a search. London hired Zuidema away from Hamilton for the city manager role, a position he’d never held before.
Questions about Zuidema’s job status first arose in 2014, almost two years after he was hired for the position. His standing with the current council has been in flux for much of the past year.
Eyebrows were raised last April when it was learned an email was sent last January that was signed “Matt and Art” for Mayor Matt Brown and Zuidema informing all members of council there was a corporate response for media inquiries about the questions swirling around the General Dynamics deal to build military vehicles for Saudi Arabia.
Paul Paolatto, the head of the London Police Services Board, Jason Timlick, the president of the London Professional Firefighters Association and Steve Holland, the president of CUPE 101 which represents London’s inside workers, have all spoken out against Zuidema’s bargaining style.
City hall’s inside workers accused Zuidema of bad-faith bargaining during their 2015 labour dispute.
Zuidema has also been criticized for being difficult to deal with by the media and was criticized for redacting much of the draft business case for London’s rapid transit plan, a move he defended, though the document was later made public in its entirety.
Some councillors also clashed with Zuidema. Ward 7 Coun. Josh Morgan butted heads with him over whether council or bureaucrats possessed the authority to hire top staff, and Tanya Park quit the Zuidema-chaired community economic road map panel, calling it ineffectual.
Zuidema’s salary in 2015 was $234,982. It’s unclear how much Zuidema’s departure will cost taxpayers.
Council agreed to a “no-cut contract” when he was hired in 2012.