"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Wednesday 1 September 2010

Further

The document I have is the original presented by The Clerk for Council's consideration on September 4th 2007.

Clause 3 was argued . No direction was given to change it.

Much water has flowed under the bridge since then

The Clerk retired in November 2008. A new clerk took office one week prior to his retirement. Hardly time for a complete understanding of works in progress. .

An Integrity Commissioner was appointed prior to the Clerk's leaving after an interview with the Mayor and Clerk not authorized by Council.

A new CAO took office in January. On the same day, the Treasurer submitted his resignation. He stayed until the budget was approved in mid April.

A new solicitor arrived about the same time.

Shortly after, a contract was signed with the Integrity Commissioner.

In July a complaint , prepared by a solicitor at a cost of $50,000, was filed by six members of Council including the Mayor.

In early August , a decision was forwarded to the clerk's office and distributed by the deputy-clerk who was acting in the absence of the vacationing Clerk, to Councillors in their mail boxes

It was scooped back up soon after.

I attended the town hall the following day to collect what was mine; the Integrity Commissioner. had notofied me it was there. A reporter with a camera came with me.

The new solicitor, Acting CAO, for the vacationing CAO , after a couple of consults with the Mayor while I was in the reception area. subsequently informed me, the deputy clerk had not been appointed Acting Clerk. He had been appointed Acting CAO and I would not be provided with the Integrity Commissioner's decision.

The following Monday, the Clerk returned I attended upon her and was provided with the Integrity Commissioner's decision.

Several things happened about the same time. The Clerk, who signed a five year contract the previous November, decided she would rather be retired after all and promptly took her leave.

The Mayor denied and has since consistently denied seeing the Commissioner's decision before the decision was made to strip him of his authority.

The Mayor and the same five Councillors, who signed the complaint prepared by a solicitor and publicized in several venues and is syill posted on the Town's web site, met and stripped the Integrity Commissioner of his authority.

The Commissioner's decision was refused to Councillors McRoberts and Collins Mrakas because they had refused to sign the complaint.

All I can tell you about the Code of Conduct is that it originally contained the clause requiring members of Council to refrain from communicating.

There is no record of direction to remove it.

It was already removed prior to being posted on the web site.

Not even Hercule Poirot, with all his little gray cells ticking at peak performance, would be able to fathom this mystery
.

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