Sunday, February 20, 2011
KSA General Manager Fired
Desmond Rodenbour, General Manager of the Kwantlen Student Association, was fired by KSA council on February 9. So far none of the Kwantlen newspapers appear to have picked up the story.
Like former UVic Student Society General Manager Marne Jensen, who departed last year after a decade on the job, Rodenbour was a long-time fixture at the KSA. However, unlike Jensen, a former executive and well-known supporter of the Canadian Federation of Students, Rodenbour was very critical of the CFS. He helped fight the CFS' attempt to reject KSA Director of External Affairs Derek Robertson as the CFS local representative, and argued that Kwantlen's CFS fees couldn't legally increase without the consent of students via referendum.
In April 2008 the KSA board took the anti-CFS side in an unsuccessful defederation referendum. Since then the board has remained critical of the CFS, so its views seem compatible with Rodenbour's. The real reasons for his dismissal were probably kept in-camera, like most personnel issues at student unions.
Board member Nicole Joe felt the decision to fire Rodenbour was unnecessary. She tweeted, "All this talk about the #Kwantlen #ksacouncil meeting yesterday is getting ridiculous. Regardless of outcome, legal counsel should be sought...All in all every1's guilty. Discipline process not done correct. Could've had written warning w/ 'fired if done again.'"
Reena Bali, Director of Events and Student Life, was even harsher. She tweeted, "Legal advice was not shown to #ksacouncil and it was for the report and there was no report shown for removal of GM...u will soon see the downfall of the #ksacouncil if this keeps up."
As well, Bali stated, "There were #kwantlen students at the #ksacouncil meeting that did not even know him & they disagreed with the decision...As a 3rd year Human Resource student at #kwantlen I can say mayb #ksacouncil did not break ALL employment law but they have broken MOST...the truth of what happened at #ksacouncil will come out. u will be shocked at what ur so called reps will do for political gain....[Rodenbour] is head hunted every yr by other student unions/firms who want him 4his qualifications."
KSA elections recently finished but the new board has not yet taken office. It will be interesting to see how the next set of directors responds to a decision made at the end of the previous board's term.
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Spreading lies ? Misinformation ? Fabricating stories? Deception? Where have I heard this before ..... sounds somewhat familiar, very familiar in fact. Not at all unlike a student I know of that has done exactly the same things to students who speak up against the CFS .
ReplyDeleteI personally know Desmond and I can only say great things about him. I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.
ReplyDeleteph3ar my g00gle-fu:
ReplyDeletehttps://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:YE5RNbO0OZUJ:runnermag.ca/index.php/2011/02/ksa-general-manager-fired/+site:runnermag.ca+general+manager&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk
This was briefly up on the Runner's website, then taken down. It's mostly like what's in the recent paper edition.
Scuttlebut is that there's more scandalous stuff in Baldwin's report, which _some students_ have, but the Runner's lawyer told them not to print it.
After reading the cache from above I now question whether or not the KSA shot themselves in the foot over this one. It sounds like there was a debacle over the finances a few years back and they amended the KSA Bylaws to put the finances in teh hands of the GM - something they should never have done. It also sounds like firing the manager could be an over-reaction to the report about an almost too relaxed atmosphere in the office management.
ReplyDelete“The lines between the elected body (the employer) and the unelected or appointed body (the employees) is completely blurred. The elected Council is identified and treated as employees.” This is a systematic problem everywhere in student governments. Elected officials tend to be in office for a year or two at best while management stays for extended periods. I would likelt have difficulty in such a position knowing that my bosses would change on a yearly basis. On the other hand if the KSA Council hadn't dealt with this is in the past, then it only encourages such behaviour moving forward.
I'm a student at Kwantlen and I must say that maybe the process of rodenbours removal was done a little bit to fast but it was inevitable. The report published about him is DAMNING! As far as people like Reena Bali tweeting about this stuff, she's the same person who signed very generous amendments to Rodenbours contract. Who gets screwed in all the internal politics? A student like me who pays up to 70bucks a semester.
ReplyDeleteNothing more then a bunch of immature kids who think they're big time politicians. Now I guarantee this is going to lead to a legal battle with Rodenbour and the KSA gets sucked for funds. Haste decision by the KSA board but at the same time Rodenbous been around a long time and he knows how to work the system. In the report I think I read he has a close personal relationship with the Lawyer. I'm in my last year and I've never been involved with the ksa because of the unprofessional and childish behavior. Rodenbour should get severance and move on. I'm sure there's another student union that needs his services.
The mess that is Desmond`s firing is a great example of how to NOT remove a GM. In comparison, the UVSS board this year exemplified exactly how to tactfully and professionally part ways with a long time student union GM.
ReplyDeleteThe bylaws haven't been ammended since the late 1990s. Council has full control over the budget, as per the bylaws and regulations. The bylaws are set by the students through general meetings; the regulations are ammendable by Council provided they do not violate the bylaws.
ReplyDeleteCouncil approves the budget brought forward by the director of finance and her finance committee and in that process different staff people provide worksheets related to their areas (cafe, student services, the reboot computer repair service, etc.) and those are considered when drafting the budget. The budget then goes to Council for approval, usually in late fall or by end of January at the latest. The budgets and audited statements are all posted at the KSA website.
The budget does outline spending authorities - for example Council has spending authority over the line items related to going on conference, so Council selects delegates and releases money when delegates are approved to go. Each Campus Council has spending authority over their campus council budgets for activities and events. There is an events budget, with money set aside for numerous events, and for each of those events usually the executive board approves the release of funds based on event planning tools that are submitted to the executive for approval.
The bylaws do solidly place HR authority for staff in the hands of the GM, but he too has to submit a budget to the finance committee which then gets approved by Council. Even then, society signing authorities should be regularly reviewing and signing off on the HR worksheets when money is transferred (HR at KSA is processed electronically) - this was a recommendation of the auditors when the KSA moved to electronic processing of HR. All cheques cut are reviewed by signing authorities - at least two of the GM, the Director of External Affairs, the Director of Finance or the Director of Operations. Also the regulations do not allow signing officers to sign off on their own expense reports or cheques. If the cheque is for an amount over I believe $2,500 then three signing officers are required to review the expenditure before signing off on the cheques.
ReplyDeleteWhen the KSA adopted its current system in the late 1990s, it had been a practice to pay elected officials for hours worked in support of carrying out things that they chose to do through the elected bodies (campus councils, council and the executive board) but not for their democratic roll. But many people missed meetings still so it was switched that most councillors are volunteers if they want to help out with an event but they get an honorarium for attending council meetings, campus council meetings and standing committee meetings of council. Executive directors and campus council directors and liaisons still got an hourly wage as they have more responsibilities to ensure that their areas are attended to. It is true that they have to submit timesheets which are signed off on by the GM but the regulations require you to put in the number of hours worked and where they were worked, and for some positions a brief summary of work done during the shift. Executives, liaisons and campus directors also have to submit detailed written reports to every meeting of council and the regulations state that if they fail to submit a report they get docked a certain number of hours in pay (unless they are sick and can provide documentation for that OR if they are on conference for KSA when a report is due). It had been debated in the past to have like a committee of council review elected official pay, or some of the executives, but it was felt that having anything more outside of the current review process for release of funds could be cumbersome. Many fights break out at other student societies over pay when one elected official hates another elected official. The current system allows for review, and should everyone be properly submitting reports to Council or to their standing committees, then there is a process to see if work is being done. If questions do arise over time worked when reviewed by a signing officer, they can bring those concerns to an in-camera session of executive board or if the situation is more severe, even council. Council also has disciplinary supervision over elected officials and a process for that is in the KSA's regulations.
SO the processes are there - it just depends on whether or not they are being followed. That responsibility lies jointly with the executive and the GM who are the ones that oversee and manage the day to day operations of the society as per the bylaws. Also, the bylaws and regulations and other rules are all online at the KSA's website.
We'll see how long other organizations would 'love' Mr. Rodenbour's services. His time is up and we will all soon find out how scumy he really is.
ReplyDeleteReena Bali signed Desmond's contract extension on THE LAST DAY OF HER TERM last year. Is that a little suspicious? She's also the same person who has supported him all along. Desmond has done nothing but steal money from the KSA and hire all his former lovers and friends. The Bladwin report finally let's us students get a SMALL glimpse into his corruption. As a fee paying student I'm glad he's finally gone.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're also glad that a thousand students' entire membership fees are going to go towards paying for the Baldwin report and Rodenbour's eventual compensation for wrongful dismissal.
ReplyDeleteApparently, advising council not to discuss HR ex camera is the sort of thing that makes you unqualified to advise council. Council will say so, ex camera, and then fire you. If you're worried you're getting bad advice, KSA, maybe get some other advice and compare instead of just doing whatever strikes your fancy at the moment.
POST ONE OF THREE - I'm Steven Lee, former Director of Finance at the KSA from 2007-2010. As the former Director of Finance and as a current at-large Kwantlen student and honorary member of the KSA, I can make oath and say that I have personal knowledge of the facts under discussion here. The topic of discussion here concerns me, especially when people suggest that the contract in place between the KSA and Mr. Desmond Rodenbour was possibly suspicious and / or corrupt. Since the contract itself (as can any contract or financial document of the KSA) can be viewed by any member of Council or by any Kwantlen student upon request of the general manager, I feel it is important to shed some light on this situation. So here I go…
ReplyDeleteIn 2009 Mr. Rodenbour, in his capacity as the General Manager, contacted me and Mr. Nathan Griffiths, Director of Operations to inform us of his intent to renegotiate his current contract. He sent us a written memo via e-mail outlining this desire. The KSA was very busy in 2009 as the Council brought forward a number of referendum questions to the student body regarding a number of possible new fees. When they were all approved, the KSA had to figure out which ones would be implemented and then the KSA had to implement the programs tied to those new spending areas.
So the contract talks didn't occur until March 2010. By this time, Mr. Griffiths had resigned his position as he had applied for and was the successful candidate for a new marketing position in the KSA. Ms. Reena Bali, who had been elected originally in the 2009-10 term to be the Richmond Campus Director was appointed by the KSA Council to serve as the Director of Operations for the remainder of that term (as per the KSA’s bylaws).
Mr. Rodenbour’s original contract dated back to early 2007 and was signed by myself and the Director of Operations at the time, Mr. Matthew Huff. A lot of work was put into negotiating a fair contract with Desmond and it was a good healthy negotiation. Mr. Huff and I received legal advice on various drafts of the contract as negotiations progressed. The advice was from an HR lawyer (Ms. Judith Macfarlane) who worked at the KSA's law firm, Farris and Company. Because of Desmond's past working relationship with KSA's regular legal counsel, Mr. David Borins, we opted to get advice from a lawyer with no previous history with Desmond or David, but who also specialized in the practice of HR and contract law.
Overall, the contract was fairly standard as based on other contracts for staff at the KSA. For staff, as per the regulations the KSA’s Executive Board usually approves a standardized contract template that the GM can use when hiring other staff. As such, a similarly structured contract is in place for the GM with the only variation being the rate of remuneration. Everything else is based on the KSA’s standard compensation structure. The KSA is not unionized, and doesn't have a lot of money but in its staff contracts provisions are laid out for remuneration, time off, leaves, holiday, sickness, overtime, benefits, etc. For example, under the KSA's standard compensation structure, full time management do not get overtime - if one week they work 60 hours, 20 hours are banked and they can simply take it as time off at a later date when the KSA is not as busy. Anyway, upon completion of the negotiations with Desmond, the contract was brought back to the executive by Mr. Huff and myself and approved. As per the provisions for signing off on contracts contained in the KSA regulations, Mr. Huff and myself then signed off on his contract.
POST TWO OF THREE – Again, I'm Steven Lee, former Director of Finance at the KSA from 2007-2010. As the former Director of Finance and as a current at-large Kwantlen student, I can make oath and say that I have personal knowledge of the facts under discussion here. The 2007 contract was in place until amended in March 2010. In March 2010 the main changes to the contract revolved around two central fronts: 1. Desmond wanted to get his master's degree and wanted the association to help cover the costs of doing this; and 2. tweaking the protection for Desmond should he be fired by the KSA Council without cause. The cost of the degree would be covered partly in light of the fact that his salary had not increased during 2007 – 2010.
ReplyDeleteThere was nothing corrupt about the negotiation and approval of the contract in 2007 nor was there anything corrupt in 2010. The process for negotiation surrounding the 2010 amendments was similar to the negotiation that occurred for the initial contract in 2007. And in terms of what Mr. Rodenbour was asking for, there was precedent set involving other staff. On a basic level, most junior and senior staff in the KSA are provided with access to an education benefit that allows them to take courses or attend seminars related to improving that employee’s performance. If any eligible staff sees something they think will help them, they can put forward a case to their manager and apply for that benefit. For example, I believe our records coordinator took courses in records management at BCIT, and I’m sure there are numerous other examples. So there was precedent for the executive in terms of considering whether or not Desmond’s request was fair, reasonable and justified.
In terms of what Mr. Rodenbour was asking for, the KSA and its financial administrator came to an agreement in 2007 so that he could finish his CMA or CGA (I forget which exactly). In that case, the financial administrator asked that the costs of the program be paid up front and in lieu he would forgo receiving some of the other benefits he would be entitled to for a specified period of time. The KSA's financial administrator already came to the table with degrees in economics and accounting and strengthening his knowledge as a senior manager was logical and subsequently his special request was approved. And that's what a responsible organization does - it trains its employees and provides long term employees with opportunities to improve themselves so that in turn, they can provide more to the organization.
Now, as Chair of that March 2010 meeting of the executive board, I can confidently say that all executives had their chance to ask questions about the amendments that were on the table in what was a fairly lengthy debate. All members of the executive at the time were present. In addition to Reena and myself, the executive at the time included Derek Robertson as Director of External Affairs; Ashley Fehr as Director of Academic Affairs and Vanessa Knight as the Director of Events. Furthermore, Brad Head, the incoming executive director of academic affairs was present at the meeting in which the contract was discussed. Discussion on the topic began with Desmond presenting his case, followed by some questions and answers. Mr. Rodenbour then left the room.
When he left, further debate occurred and as Chair of that March 2010 meeting, I can also say that legal advice was again obtained from the KSA’s law firm. During the debate the KSA’s law firm was contacted via speaker phone, and executive members did ask questions. From this discussion, the executive came up with a counter proposal and Desmond was brought back in and negotiations continued until both sides came to an agreement. Following this, the contract as amended was approved unanimously by the executive board and signed off on by myself and Ms. Bali on behalf of the executive as per the procedures for signing off on contracts as contained in the KSA’s regulations. But at no point was this process suspicious. It was not corrupt.
POST THREE OF THREE – Now, I can’t speak to what has happened over the last 11 months since I left office as I have stayed away from the KSA to concentrate on finishing my degree. But there are those who are angered with the current KSA and I say they are angered for the wrong reasons.
ReplyDeleteI can’t speak to the validity of the Baldwin Report, as this purportedly open document is nowhere to be found on the KSA’s website, even if it was presented at an open meeting of Council.
But one thing that did anger me as a student, was that Council stopped meeting for 1/4 of its term. The main democratic body and overseer of everything in the KSA ceased to function from September thru to December 2010 as it did not meet. The various committees of Council have also not met, or if they have, hardly anyone came out (even though the majority of elected officials are paid simply to attend and provide meaningful participation in meetings).
As a previous poster illustrated, there are controls in place to help curb the potential for corruption. But in the Baldwin report, he purportedly describes an organization with no direction. And from this, as a student who saw the KSA Council not meet for ¼ of its term, I can certainly see how the place would seem like it had no direction when the Council hadn't been doing its job. Any lack of direction stems directly from the efforts put in by its elected officials, who have a duty to understand the KSA's structure and make it work for the benefit of students. It is council’s responsibility with input, guidance and support from staff, to lay out the vision and direction for the KSA.
But speaking as someone who hasn’t been involved for 11 months in the day to day operations of the Society, the services of the Society certainly seemed to be delivered even when Council did not meet. I could still get my hot chocolate from the café and I was still able to buy my movie tickets and bus passes and I was still able to read minutes online, and the fine arts club, which like all clubs is overseen and reports to the KSA, was active, so the staff seemed to be doing their jobs. How that leads to the GM being ousted is certainly another debate that I can’t really enter into as I don’t have all the information. And I don't think everyone else does either.
But as someone who fought a very corrupt student government that was in power from 2005-06 I can attest that Mr. Rodenbour and the elected officials involved with the KSA between 2007-2010 worked hard to build the KSA back up from essentially nothing. After the Supreme Court ordered election in the fall of 2006, a forensic audit was done, major clean-up of all offices occurred, services were re-staffed and re-started including the café, procedures put back into place and much more. During this time, the KSA Council decided to support a petition to leave the CFS and that took up a lot of the KSA’s time and resources in 2008. In 2009, the KSA helped launch the new student newspaper, and brought forward the referendum for new fees to start new services in 2010 and beyond. The KSA grew substantially over that period of time. The café went from a place with a $150,000 deficit in 2006 to turning a profit in 2010. The KSA has a new volunteer service, and runs the clubs that were previously run by Kwantlen. A U-Pass plan was negotiated with an eye to ensuring all students benefited and this was finally brought to referendum this past month. So a lot has happened. There are many things that could have been done differently, and certainly, at all times, everyone could have been held more accountable but the students certainly are not getting burned as they once did.
But I digress, as I mainly wanted to simply post here to stand by the process that went into negotiating and approving the General Manager’s contract. The process was fair and accountable, and from that process no one has ever stolen from the students.
Thanks for that long and boring analysis that no one read!!!
ReplyDeleteI just looked you up Steve...MY GOODNESS! HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AT KWANTLEN FOR? Dude you really think you can still connect to students and what they need? No chance. Why have you stayed at Kwantlen so long? For the love of student politics? YOU HAVE YOUR OWN WEBSITE DEDICATED TO THE KSA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Step aside gramps it's time for a new generation of leadership. Stop hanging on to your youth, Kwantlen students simply no longer see eye to eye with you. The only way you're winning another election at Kwantlen is by running a negative campaign against others...it's your only option. THERE IS NO WAY...I repeat....NO WAY...you could win another election at Kwantlen...
You have the potential to be a productive member of society, yet, you piss your talents away on attempting to feel like a god in the petty world that is Student Politics...
P.S Rodenbour is an iffy character and YES his contract extension was shady...thing is he must of legitimized and rationalized it to you but that is HIGHLY unethical
you guys are censoring me....you call this freedom of speech?
ReplyDeleteI loved Desmond...he was great all of this stuff is a setup
ReplyDeleteDesmond systematically stole money from the KSA for the last 4 years. He rode the wave of "fighting the corrupt people" as that Steve guy said, as so no one would look past what was on the outside to find his hands deep in every pocket possible. I doubt that having the Director of Operations, who oversees your employment, signs your cheques and amends your contract, as a close friend and lover is ethical. 90% of the staff are his friends and connections. He grew up with the KSA's current lawyer (who has banked over 500grand since 2004 with the KSA). It gets worse... every service contract or vendor that the KSA has signed with has Desmond's paws all over it. The Cafe is supplied by vendors which he knows, the contracts are all with people who he also knows or profits from in some way. He hired his friends without interviews, game them raises when he felt like it, and manipulated the board by sleeping with the women and withholding pay for the others who questioned his role. The employee was now the boss. He worked less than 1/3rd of the required shifts last year and somehow collected 10grand in overtime...sound like a fair contract? There was a termination clause in his amended contract, the length of most contracts, that is why the board moved in a fast manner because the window was small. It required a 2/3rds resolution by Council (most of which are his ex-lovers or friends who he runs each year so they dont question his moves) and they had to give him 15 days notice of the meeting at which they were going to vote to terminate. His severance was almost 70grand! Wait, wasnt he fired years back and already collected 28grand of severance, got re-hired and now is getting fired again and wants more severance??? This is too crazy. I am a student, and I think this is called stealing. However you put it, Desmond sucked this place dry...he is NOT moving on, he is coming back and the students have NO idea. He claims to be there for the students, so why is he now suing us for several hundred thousand dollars? hhhmmm. Steve, you are looking through rose-coloured glasses. Get a life. You are 40 and I cannot connect with you as a student. You also amended his contract many times to add these ridiculous clauses in. This is shameful. The previous board members, and people like Steve talk about the KSA everyday on twitter and facebook. GET A JOB and MOVE ON. Student government is something that you do for a year or two and move aside so someone else can have a turn. You dont stalk people after. Unless....you are a smart GM and you ask all your friends to run so you dont get called out for sleeping with your staff and not doing your job! Also, I have attended a few meetings and this board is now connected with the CFS. Desmond was anti CFS because he was pro CASA only because his dream job was GM of UBC student society. He wants to suck them dry too, except their pockets are much deeper than ours. This new board is 80% new and doesnt seem to have anyone that has slept with Desmond, so I think we are safe.
ReplyDelete