The agenda for council’s November 6 committee meeting featured a staff report on cottages including discussion about “grandfathering” existing illegal cottages.
It is well known the mayor unlawfully converted his boat house into a cottage which for many years until very recently has been used as an unpermitted short term rental.
When asked at the November 6 meeting whether he would recuse himself from the discussion about cottages he said no and remained in the meeting. He claimed he could stay because it was not a voting meeting, another instance of not knowing the A, B, C’s of his job. (He also attended the public hearing on short term rentals, seen by some who attended as an obvious conflict of interest.)
By participating in these discussions the mayor may already have disqualified himself from office. Will he drive home the final, self-inflicted nail in the coffin of his office by continuing to refuse to recuse and vote on these matters?
Conflicts of interest are a breach of the Oath of Office and Code of Conduct and can be grounds for removal from office. Procedures for conflicts are stipulated in the Community Charter:
Restrictions on participation if in conflict
101 (1) This section applies if a council member has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in a matter, whether or not the member has made a declaration under section 100.
(2) The council member must not
(a) remain or attend at any part of a meeting referred to in section 100 (1) during which the matter is under consideration,
(b) participate in any discussion of the matter at such a meeting,
(c) vote on a question in respect of the matter at such a meeting, or
(d) attempt in any way, whether before, during or after such a meeting, to influence the voting on any question in respect of the matter.
(3) A person who contravenes this section is disqualified from holding office as described in section 108.1 [disqualification for contravening conflict rules] unless the contravention was done inadvertently or because of an error in judgment made in good faith.
SIDE NOTE: In an October council meeting (at 1:45:00) the mayor boldly claimed the cottage had never been rented out as a short term rental although it has long been public knowledge that it has.
