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The mayor blasted the sanctions imposed upon her and hinted she would possibly contemplate authorized motion in opposition to the town
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Drugs Hat’s mayor is dealing with a slate of sanctions, together with a 50 per cent wage discount and a stripping of practically all her mayoral duties, after seven of her colleagues agreed she violated council’s code of conduct throughout a council assembly final summer season.
At a particular council assembly on Thursday, seven Drugs Hat council members unanimously supported a movement that discovered Mayor Linnsie Clark had breached their code of conduct bylaw by “failing to deal with the town supervisor courteously, dignity and respect” through the Aug. 21, 2023 common assembly.
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The sanctions droop Clark from her presiding duties at council conferences, prohibit her from coming into the executive space of Drugs Hat’s metropolis corridor and prohibit her from having any direct contact with metropolis employees outdoors of council conferences, in line with a information bulletin on the town’s web site.
If she is to speak with the town supervisor, Clark could solely accomplish that by way of an e mail that’s copied to the remainder of council. If the 2 are to satisfy in individual, one other council member have to be current throughout that assembly.
Clark should additionally publish a letter of reprimand and a request for apology. She’s going to now not be the official spokesperson for council and can now not attend conferences of the town’s administration committee.
On account of her stripped duties, Clark’s wage has been reduce in half.
Mayor calls sanctions ‘surprising and completely disproportionate’
Clark, who was not at Thursday’s assembly, blasted the sanctions imposed upon her in a social media response, which hinted she would possibly contemplate authorized motion in opposition to the town.
In a Fb publish, she stated she discovered council’s sanctions “surprising and completely disproportionate.”
“I’m reviewing my authorized choices and count on to be able to offer an extra public response after I’ve achieved so,” she stated.
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Previously a lawyer for the Metropolis of Drugs Hat’s authorized division, Clark efficiently ran for mayor through the 2021 municipal election, amassing 66 per cent of the vote and ousting incumbent Ted Clugston. She was the town’s first feminine mayor, in line with reporting from the Drugs Hat Information.
However Clark’s reputation has taken successful since her landslide election victory, exemplified by a recall petition submitted by a resident in opposition to her final fall. That recall effort fell far in need of the province’s threshold, nevertheless, garnering roughly 8,000 signatures of a required 26,000.
In her Fb publish on Thursday, Clark stated she ran on a “platform of change” on behalf of Drugs Hat residents who have been involved about administrative overreach and “poor governance” at metropolis corridor.
“I stand by these rules,” she wrote. “I consider holding the town’s administration to account is the position of council. I gave up my job as a lawyer for the town to battle for what I consider is correct for Drugs Hat. That’s what I did, and can proceed to try this now.”
What led to the sanctions?
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The sanctions imposed upon Clark stem from a tense trade between her and metropolis supervisor Ann Mitchell on the Aug. 21, 2023 council assembly.
At that assembly, Clark pressed Mitchell for a number of minutes when council was discussing the town’s administrative reorganization. Clark argued the method adopted by the town was improper.
In response, Mitchell described the mayor’s line of questioning as “an inquisition.”
“I feel that is extremely inappropriate and I’d wish to cease this dialogue proper now,” Mitchell stated.
“This isn’t a query interval. It is a diatribe and I’m most likely extra offended than you might be.”
After that assembly, council voted to retain Kingsgate Regulation, an Edmonton-based legislation agency, to research a criticism from a council member that Clark had contravened council’s code of conduct bylaw.
‘No want for that line of questioning’
Andy McGrogan, a Drugs Hat councillor, stated the state of affairs has been unlucky, however that Clark’s conduct on the assembly final summer season warranted the unprecedented sanctions.
“There was actually no want for that line of questioning,” he informed Postmedia Thursday. “I don’t need to use the phrase malicious, but it surely gave the impression to be … simply a possibility to voice her displeasure. She knew the solutions to the questions she was asking.”
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The report from Kingsgate will ultimately be accessible to the general public by way of a FOIP request, McGrogan added, however should first require redactions.
“I perceive some folks won’t assume the severity of the sanctions equate to the actions,” he stated. “We perceive that.
“We clearly sought authorized recommendation on the matter and have been guided by means of it. Once more, it goes again to the totality of the incident, and to some extent, all of us figuring out what led as much as it. The investigational report is pretty clear.”
In an announcement, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs stated it’s conscious of the sanctions imposed on Clark, and that the Municipal Authorities Act requires each municipality in Alberta to determine a code of conduct bylaw.
“The Code of Conduct for Elected Officers Regulation units out necessities for the criticism system inside a code of conduct bylaw, in addition to sanctions which can be imposed for violations of a code of conduct bylaw,” the assertion learn.
“The Municipal Authorities Act doesn’t present the Minister of Municipal Affairs with any position within the adjudication of sanctions imposed by a council beneath a code of conduct bylaw.”
Drugs Hat council’s subsequent common assembly is on April 8.
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