WESTLOCK — Westlock County councillors passed all three readings at their Feb. 13 meeting on the updated council code of conduct, which now reflects several changes that councillors had pushed for, such as removing an “informal” complaints process that some felt was ripe for abuse.
Jared Shaigec, corporate initiatives and intergovernmental advisor for the county, had previously brought forward the council code of conduct to the Dec. 12 council meeting.
Shaigec said that Section 146 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA) requires each municipal council to establish a code of conduct via bylaw.
As per legislation, that code of conduct must also be reviewed every four years. Shaigec said the county had begun that process in late 2022.
Council initially decided at their Dec. 12 meeting to defer the matter until the Jan. 9 committee of the whole meeting.
During the Jan. 9 meeting, Coun. Stuart Fox-Robinson took issue with a proposed informal complaints process within the code, arguing that all violations of the council code of conduct should be handled formally.
“This is an area that’s very serious, and when those complaints are not handled properly, we completely lose the public’s trust,” he said.
Fox-Robinson also argued that an informal process could open the door to quashing legitimate complaints, as well as allowing councillors with a grudge to harass each other.
He and other councillors also took exception with a ban on electronic devices for non-official purposes at council meetings, seeing it as unenforceable, as well as a section allowing councillors to accept “tokens and minor gifts” of up to $100 without having to report them.
The updated code of conduct brought to the Feb. 13 meeting no longer contains the sections allowing for an informal complaints process or a ban on personal electronic devices at council meetings.
It also states that elected officials must declare all gifts received up to an estimated value of $100, while gifts of more than $100 in value must be rejected or accepted on behalf of the municipality and donated to a council-identified charity.
Fox-Robinson thanked administration for their work on the council code of conduct.
“I think we’ve got a good document that is very sound,” he said.
-with files from Tim Shoults
