Following legal advice, Rideau Lakes council has overturned its previous decision on three integrity commissioner reports.
Council voted unanimously to repeal 15 day pay suspensions it had imposed on Deputy Mayor Paula Banks and Councillor Jeff Banks.
The suspensions stemmed from Paula Banks’ breach of the code of conduct and Jeff Banks’ behaviour toward Mayor Arie Hoogenboom.
The integrity commissioner Ellen Fry concluded Jeff Banks “did not treat the Mayor appropriately… and engaged in conduct that would bring the Municipality or Council into disrepute,” recommending he apologize to Hoogenboom. This stems from a heated exchange during a November 12th meeting about previous behaviour during an incident on November 4th.
On November 4th, a group of councillors turned their backs during a delegation from Wendy Alford, the spokesperson for community watchdog Rideau Lakes Grassroots Group, who are openly critical to various council decisions.
Fry recommended an apology be issued to Alford from the participating councillors including Paula Banks, who alongside Jeff Banks, had her pay suspended for 15 days.
A consulted laywer said the pay suspensions resulted in council exceeding its authority by imposing additional penalties beyond what the commissioner recommended.
Story by Grant Deme