(City of Medicine Hat)

By Eli J. Ridder | @EliRidder

UPDATED

Medicine Hat council unable to address false info around mayor sanctions due to privacy laws, councillors say

Apr 1, 2024 | 10:08 PM

Medicine Hat’s council said Monday it is unable to address misinformation circulating through the community over its move to sanction the mayor due to the city’s bylaws and provincial rules.

There have been several “misleading statements” about council’s decision last month to strip away Mayor Linnsie Clark’s power and some of the reasons behind it, the group who placed the limitations on Clark wrote in a statement.

The press release sent to reporters on Monday evening. (Council)

“We want to assure our residents that we followed a careful and fair process, consistent with our obligations under our bylaws and the Municipal Government Act,” the councillors wrote.

That municipal act requires the councillors to “keep in confidence” the discussions that led to the sanctions, the councillors added.

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Paul Salvatore, CEO and founder of Municipal Experts, said the councillors have made it clear with this statement they do not want a public fight with the mayor over issues that were discussed in closed meetings.

“Council has a responsibility to uphold the values and standards expected of us by our residents, and the bylaws and policies that govern our city – including the code of conduct,” the councillors wrote.

The councillors voted on March 21 to take away Clark’s powers after finding she broke code of conduct rules.

They used a Kingsgate Legal investigation — spurred from a complaint by Coun. Shila Sharps — that found there was “substantive” evidence she broke the code during a tense exchange with City Manager Ann Mitchell in August 2023.

In the letter, signed by Couns. Robert Dumanowski, Cassi Hider, Darren Hirsch, Andy McGrogan, Ramona Robins, Alison Van Dyke and Allison Knodel, the group of seven stand by their sanctions on the mayor.

“We believe that our decision is, and continues to be, in the best interests of the community and reflects our continued commitment to collaborate with, protect, and support City of Medicine Hat staff,” the councillors wrote.

“We are focused on moving forward in addressing the concerns that we are hearing from Hatters every day including the cost of living, maintaining high quality municipal service delivery, and the desire to continue to attract more people to Medicine Hat as the best place to live, work, play and raise a family.”

Coun. Shila Sharps was the only councillor who did not attend the meeting to sanction Clark and has avoided getting involved publicly on the advice of legal counsel as she was the one who filed the code of conduct complaint last year that let to the third-party investigation into Clark.

Mayor Clark last week revealed she was seeking to undo the sanctions her colleagues placed on her through the judicial review process.

Clark also posted a trove of documents related to the third-party investigation that are largely without redaction, revealing City Manager Ann Mitchell sent the mayor a “cease and desist” letter and cited a legal opinion for a reorganization of city hall she may not have actually received.