Amendments to Rocky View County (RVC) council’s Code of Conduct bylaw modify the complaint process and remove the public’s ability to directly contact the investigator responsible for looking into complaints.
The amendments received third reading Feb. 25, after a decision on the matter was delayed at council’s Feb. 11 meeting.
“This is our sober second thought,” Coun. Crystal Kissel said. “Because of the amount of changes, I held this up for a reason, because I wanted to read this and I needed time to ponder if this is a good idea or a bad idea. Actually, there’s some good stuff in here.”
The amendments reword sections of the bylaw that previously provided for “any person who has identified or witnessed conduct by a councillor that the person reasonably believes, in good faith, is in contravention of this bylaw” to either make an informal complaint to the council member or the reeve, or to undertake a formal complaint process directly with the County’s investigator.
With the changes, members of the public no longer have access to the investigator and only members of council can launch an informal or formal complaint.
A new section was added to the bylaw outlining how members of the public can address a breach. To make a complaint, an “identifiable individual” must sign and date a detailed description of the facts giving rise to their concern, and deliver it to either the reeve or deputy reeve. The reeve or deputy reeve must then inform council of the complaint in a closed session, where it will be reviewed before council makes a decision on how to proceed. Under the bylaw, council may opt to have the complaint investigated, try to resolve the issue informally or take no action.
An RVC press release issued following the decision stated the amendments are intended to “introduce checks against frivolous complaints.” According to Municipal Clerk Charlotte Satink, data shared by the County’s investigator, Sean Ward of Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer, indicate eight formal complaints have been filed against members of council since the bylaw was originally approved in June 2018 – four from councillors and four from the public – amounting to approximately $15,000 in legal fees.
Of those eight complaints, four have resulted in sanctions. Couns. Kissel, Kevin Hanson and Samanntha Wright were sanctioned for breaches in June 2019 that stemmed from complaints by Reeve Greg Boehlke and Deputy Reeve Al Schule. More recently, Coun. Jerry Gautreau was sanctioned in January after a complaint from the public.
Another complaint against Boehlke was launched by Kissel, but the results of that investigation, read in council Sept. 10, 2019, found the reeve had not breached the code of conduct.
When the amendments were originally presented Feb. 11, they were opposed by Kissel, Wright and Hanson. Wright called them a move away from transparency and accountability and amounted to council becoming its own “judge and jury.”
First and second reading each carried 6-3, but a decision was delayed, as Hanson, Kissel and Wright voted against considering the amendments for third reading, which needs to be granted unanimously.
At third reading, Kissel and Hanson expressed a change of heart, saying upon closer look, they would support the amendments.
Wright, however, persisted in her opposition.
“I don’t believe that removing the residents or members of the public…from being able to access the investigator is transparent or accountable in any way, shape or form,” she said. “I do believe we owe that to our residents, to have that type of accessibility. I think it keeps us honest.”
Third reading was ultimately granted 7-1. Coun. Jerry Gautreau was absent from the meeting.
Rocky View Weekly reached out to Boehlke multiple times to ask how the amendments support transparency, and if the amendments amount to council self-policing – particularly considering past issues with a section of the bylaw that deals with conflicts of interest in a similarly self-policed manner. Boehlke did not respond by press time.
Ben Sherick, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @BenSherick
