A letter of reprimand will be sent to a Penhold councillor for recent conduct involving the fire department.
Penhold town council voted July 15 to issue a letter of reprimand to Coun. Chad Hoffman, which will be signed by the mayor and the deputy mayor. Mayor Dennis Cooper said the vote occurred during the open council session and the motion passed.
Hoffman will receive the letter and was asked to write a letter of apology to the fire department as part of the motion passed. Cooper said it was a confrontation at a meeting at the fire hall that prompted council's motion.
“Councillor Hoffman went into the fire hall and confronted the fire chief,” said Cooper, who was not present at the fire hall meeting so did not want to speculate on details. “All I know is there was two confrontations, one inside the fire hall and one outside the fire hall.”
“We felt Councillor Hoffman overstepped his bounds. He basically went in and had this confrontation. Councillor Hoffman agreed that he'd write a letter of apology,” Cooper said, adding it was conduct unbecoming of a councillor.
“Council was very frustrated with the situation and how it all evolved,” Cooper said, adding council felt something needed to be on record about it being inappropriate behaviour for a councillor. “I'm very sad we have to do it.”
Hoffman was present for the meeting. When asked for comment, he said he would be writing the apology letter as requested.
“I see the error in my judgment for my actions and I'm happy to apologize. I think I could do better to set an example. I want the best for the fire department,” Hoffman said.
This isn't the only time the first-term councillor has run into trouble with the rest of council or the fire department.
Hoffman had been a member of the fire department but was dismissed in 2011. According to a letter sent to Hoffman from Jim Pendergast, the town's fire chief, some of the firefighters did not feel safe with Hoffman without the chief in attendance. Pendergast's letter listed other negative behaviours as well. In interviews with the Innisfail Province earlier this year, Hoffman maintained he never got the chance to refute the accusations, while Pendergast said Hoffman was dismissed for disciplinary reasons.
On the council front, Hoffman has been barred by council votes from sitting on any committees since the October 2011 organizational meeting. Minutes from the meeting show he was stripped of his town office key. This state of affairs was continued at the October 2012 organizational meeting, where council voted to skip Hoffman's scheduled term as deputy mayor.
