Three senior managers at Ottawa City Hall were fired Wednesday in the first major bureaucratic shake-up since amalgamation.
Out of a job effective immediately is Richard Hewitt, Deputy Manager of Public Works and Steve Finnamore, who managed Business Transformation. City Clerk Pierre Pag� will leave his post Dec. 1, 2008.
The firings are part of a plan to find $100 million in savings over the next two years. They will result in immediate savings of $550,000.
"To those of my councillors, I think we as a council have done very good work this afternoon in terms of exploring this strategy that was presented by the City Manager," said Mayor Larry O'Brien, as he addressed City Council Wednesday. "We've investigated it from every different angle and you should be very proud of yourselves. And to the employees who are affected by this, our heartfelt thanks."
This move could lead to further job cuts at City Hall. O'Brien says 400 jobs must be cut in the next budget.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's John Hua
