Unanswered questions about city hall deputy clerk’s sudden departure

Questions continue to swirl around a deputy clerk’s sudden departure from city hall.

It was revealed that Erna Hall had a fake master’s degree two weeks ago. At the time, the city said the MBA was not essential to her job, and she completed it with her own time and money.

The city confirmed Hall is no longer employed but said it cannot provide specific details as it is a personnel matter.

However, lawyer Greg Fingas said the city could release the information if it’s in the public interest.

“If it’s a high-profile enough issue for example,” Fingas said. “So I know this is a case that has attracted some publicity, so that would offer them some basis to release the information if they saw fit.”

“It’s to their discretion whether the invasion of privacy is worth the public interest, and they have to conclude the public interest is substantially more important in order to let the information out,” he added.

It’s possible Hall was paid more because of her fake degree, Jason Childs, an economics associate professor, said.

“If she attained extra financial compensation on the basis of a fraudulent degree, I would hope they would pursue some sort of remedy for that,” Childs said. “I would hope they would pursue and get some of that money back.”

Childs also noted Hall could have beaten someone else out for the job who actually had the proper qualifications.

“We don’t know if she was dismissed for this or for something else or if it was a mutual parting of the ways,” Childs said. “But you know, it’s a challenge when somebody gets caught with a degree that isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.”

“I think anybody who is hired or promoted or given a raise on the basis of a fake degree should be dismissed,” Childs said. “And anybody who’s fallen for a degree mill in a job with any sort of responsibility, that bespeaks poor judgment, and they should be dismissed.”

Hall could not be reached for the story.

Mayor Michael Fougere called for a review of the city’s vetting process when news of Hall’s fake degree became public. There’s no update on how the review is progressing.

Childs said the city should come forward with transparent policies about how they’re going to prevent the same mistake from happening in the future.

“You get caught once, that’s a mistake. You get caught again, there’s a real problem.”