ATHABASCA – Athabasca County will be bringing in an experienced lawyer and mediator in for an investigation, after it received a code of conduct complaint about an unnamed councillor in the lead up to the council June 29 meeting.
In a July 7 special sitting of council, councillors voted 7-1 at the conclusion of closed session (Coun. Tracy Holland was opposed, and Coun. Joe Gerlach was absent) to enter into a retainer agreement with Kenneth Warren KC as an independent consultant to investigate the complaint. This motion followed an 8-1 vote (Coun. Joe Gerlach was opposed) June 29, for administration to get quotes for the service.
It is not known specifically which councillor is the target of the investigation into the code of conduct complaint, as Athabasca County has not disclosed that information.
At the June 29 meeting, council also passed a motion to accept a code of conduct complaint made against Coun. Gary Cromwell and accept his apology. However, the two matters are not necessarily related.
“When council receives a code of conduct complaint, council has a wide latitude regarding how it does the investigation,” said reeve Brian Hall.
“In broad terms, the choice between doing it internally or going to a third party is related to a combination of the complexity of the allegation, and the necessity to ensure procedural fairness for the respondent.”
Warren, who is a partner at Gowling WLG’s Calgary office, is billed as an “all-around commercial litigator with substantial experience in shareholder disputes, professional liability defence, and executive employment law,” according to Gowling WLG’s website. It also lists mediation as a focus of Warren’s work, noting that he completed a mediation workshop from Harvard in 2000.
“Sometimes, the issue is clear and isolated, and it’s reasonable that council can manage it. Other times, it would be completely fair to say it’s more complicated,” said Hall.
While the cost for the retainer has not been released yet, Hall was able to confirm that it would be included in the accounts payable list, which is included in agenda packages for regular county meetings.
