His leadership questioned for the first time at London city hall, top manager Jeff Fielding defended his record and laid out plans to improve a worker absenteeism rate nearly double the national average.

"The concern goes beyond absenteeism, it focuses directly on the issue of administrative leadership at city hall and it is central to the confidence and trust council and the community need to have in its civic administration," Fielding told politicians last night, as a gallery packed with London firefighters and other organized labour looked on. "This is a defining moment in my relationship with this council, so I hope your minds are not already made up and there is no rush to judgment."

Fielding confirmed in public what The Free Press has been reporting since last Thursday: City employees missed an average of more than 18 days of work in 2007.

How much that costs the city is a question not yet answered. But Fielding suggested the loss is substantial. When the citywide average in sick days increases by a single day, the city pays an extra $485,000 in sick time.

Not all that money is lost on the bottom line, since many of those workers aren't replaced.

But between lost productivity and overtime, the city is losing nearly half a million dollars when its citywide average increases by a day, he said after the meeting.

Fielding made 11 proposals, incorporating a call from the deputy mayor for an outsider to investigate.

The outsider would investigate why London has a high absenteeism rate and how to reduce it.

Fielding also provided a detailed accounting of the problem that showed, in 2007, management and each workforce except dispatchers for the fire department had an absence rate higher than the national average of 9.7 days for local administration.

"We have absenteeism issues that are systemic and persistent," Fielding said. And after days of questions about the city's Dearness Home, he confirmed the problem appears the worst there.

Health-care workers at the home for the aged are with the CAW and missed an average of more than 35 days last year.

Elsewhere, the problem is less but still apparent:

- The city's outside workers missed 27.8 days last year, the third straight year absence rates increased. Sixty per cent of that time was for disability claims.

- Inside workers missed 16.9 days, a rate that's increased at least four consecutive years.

- Managers missed 10.9 days, marking at least four straight years of improvement.

- Firefighters missed 16.9 days in 2007, fire prevention officers 14.7 and dispatchers 8.3. Most of that time was for sick days.

Fielding took aim at politicians and others who publically suggested city hall managers haven't been held to account for absenteeism.

"It cannot be said decisive action has not been taken when warranted," he said.

He also defended his overall record when he took over the leadership of a city hall that had chewed through four city managers in five years.

"Since my arrival in in May 2004 . . . this organization has never stood down from tough issues . . . This is no Kumbaya . . . or a group hug or some summer camp game," he said.

Among Fielding's 11 recommendations:

- Suspend recruitment of a "health and wellness specialist" and instead seek an "attendance manager" more focused on the issue at hand.

- Spend about $100,000 to automate how the city tracks absences to improve accountability.

- Review how sick days are accounted for and consider negotiating sick-day entitlements in contracts with unions.

- Report quarterly absenteeism rates to council.

It was that lack of reporting that led to the issue exploding last week. Coun. Paul Van Meerbergen flagged the issue, asking questions at London's board of control meeting before politicians -- over his objection -- asked the media to leave so they could discuss it behind closed doors.

Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best and Controller Gord Hume yesterday defended the decision to exclude the public, Hume saying he relied on the city lawyer and clerk.

But Deputy Mayor Tom Gosnell said the decision was wrong and lent an aura of secrecy that increased public outrage. "We dropped the ball and made it more incendiary," Gosnell said after last night's meeting.

Many politicians praised Fielding for quickly producing a public report and said their faith in him was bolstered, not reduced, by the last week.

"An incredible amount of work was done over the weekend. I appreciate that," DeCicco-Best said.

The mayor took it upon herself to apologize to city workers for any demeaning comments made about some of them by other politicians, the media and Londoners.

"I apologize on behalf of others . . . (they) did a real disservice to (our city workforce)," DeCicco-Best said.

Some politicians appeared to seek solace in the numbers, suggesting London's absence rate is high because city hall includes disability time, which accounted for 41 per cent of absences in 2007.

But time off for disability is also included in the national average produced by Statistics Canada. While city administration question if all cities are counting days off the same way, it hasn't produced evidence of differences.

Van Meerbergen called yesterday's disclosure a great day for transparent government: "This is my fifth year on council and today is one of the best days . . . We need to deal with this in a public session."

Firefighters and other unionized workers in the council gallery erupted in applause when Coun. Nancy Branscombe accused some on council of making irresponsible and flippant remarks about their work ethic.

"We should fix the problem without tarring everyone with the same brush."