WESTLOCK - Westlock County councillors have sent their Code of Conduct back to staff for more revisions.
The code of conduct, which applies to elected officials and members of county-appointed boards, was presented to council last month but referred to last Tuesday’s (Jan. 9) Committee of the Whole for further discussion.
Coun. Stuart Fox Robinson raised concern with several parts of the code, including a specific ban on the use of electronic devices for non-official purposes during meetings, the minimum monetary value of gifts councillors were required to report accepting, and a new optional process for informal resolution of complaints regarding harassment, sexual harassment, violence or substance use.
Fox-Robinson said the device policy would be unenforceable, suggesting wording to say councillors should be “fully engaged in meetings and free from distraction.”
Deputy Reeve Ray Marquette agreed, noting that if a family emergency arose, councillors should be available to respond.
Fox-Robinson also took issue with the clause allowing councillors and board members “token and minor gifts” of up to $100 in value without reporting them to council.
“I believe any gift should be disclosed,” Fox-Robinson said.
Reeve Christine Wiese noted a zero dollar value could be challenging: “I handed out chocolates for Christmas; am I bribing you guys?”
Fox-Robinson argued against the proposed informal complaints process, saying informal complaint processes could be manipulated either to quash formal complaints or to bully or harass someone with multiple complaints.
He said all complaints of violation of the code of conduct should be formal.
“This is an area that’s very serious, and when those complaints are not handled properly, we completely lose the public’s trust.”
Wiese agreed that it could be theoretically used against a specific councillor in a “grudge” scenario.
Coun. Isaac Skuban also agreed with Fox-Robinson and said consequences such as censure motions should not come from an informal complaint.
County Intergovernmental Advisor Jared Shaigec told council that many of the changes came from a draft template provided by the Rural Municipalities Association and Alberta Municipalities.
The informal complaint process is “highly recommended”, though not mandated by the MGA, he said.
In response to questions from Wiese, Shaigece said the code would only apply to elected officials and board members acting on County-established boards and council meetings, not to their participation in external boards such as the library.
Fox-Robinson also critiqued “ambiguous words” in the compliance section, such as requiring elected officials and board members to “uphold the letter and the spirit and intent” of the bylaw.
“They make for a nightmare when you’re trying to resolve a potentially serious issue,” said Fox-Robinson.
Council directed staff to remove the clause about electronic devices, to eliminate the minimum monetary value for gift reporting, and to remove the sections regarding informal complaints and compliance and voted to bring the policy back to the Feb. 12 Committee of the Whole meeting for another review.
