Councillor Maureen MacMillan requested a formal apology from Mayor Dave Mayville following the past few weeks of turmoil in the KHR council chambers.

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Killaloe – In a recorded vote last Tuesday night, Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards (KHR) Township council passed a resolution establishing rules as to how any township information must be fact-checked before release.

The resolution was introduced by Councillor Maureen MacMillan, who addressed an issue she felt was of great importance and which has caused unnecessary discord in both the municipality and council chamber. She raised the issue during the April 2 meeting, saying she felt it was necessary to bring this forward prior to the next finance meeting. She directed her comments at Mayor Dave Mayville, her fellow councillors and the public.

She explained she felt it was necessary to address the concern for the sake of clarity, integrity and unity within the council. “As we all know, our procedural by-law clearly states that once a decision is made, it is final, and no member of council should contradict that decision,” she said.

“Recently, we’ve seen some backtracking on a key decision we made last year to raise taxes by 17 percent. “I believe this has created confusion and uncertainty, both within council and among our constituents,” she added.

Coun. MacMillan said decisions can be difficult, and it is normal to have differences of opinion during the decision-making process.

“However, once a decision has been agreed upon, it is essential that we stand by it for the sake of consistency and trust in our governance,” she said. “Our by-law was put in place to ensure that we move forward together, with clarity and certainty.

“If we continually revisit these decisions after they have been made, it undermines the authority of this council and weakens our ability to govern effectively,” she added.

Coun. MacMillan referenced the procedural by-law which addresses undermining council’s decision. It states that once a decision is made by council, no member is allowed to criticize or continue debating the issue, unless they are proposing the issue be reconsidered.

“This means that council members must respect the collective decision of the council once it has been reached and should not continue to argue or undermine it,” she read. “The only exception is if a member formally moved to reconsider the decision.”

In addition, the by-law states council members are expected to support the decision of council, both publicly and privately.

“They are prohibited from actively working against these decisions, whether it is openly or in secret,” she quoted. “This ensures that all members express the collective will of the council and work together to implement its decision, rather than actively opposing them.”

She then noted she was providing it for Mayor Mayville to review for his information. She pointied out he has recently been saying council charged ratepayers too much money in the 2024 tax rates, which she believes goes against the procedural by-law.

Coun. MacMillan noted the rules in place emphasize respect for council’s decisions and co-operation in their implementation to ensure unity and stability.

She encouraged everyone to view the minutes of the May 21, 2024 regular meeting on the township’s website, specifically the mayor’s address where he stated the reasons for the aforementioned tax increase, and council unanimously supported the 17 percent increase.

“I ask that we honour the decisions we have made with respect to the work of our professionals, and move forward with confidence and unity. I’d like us to focus on the needs of our community and the long-term goals we have set, and trust that our collective decision-making is in the best interest of all.

“Also, as a result of this recent activity, I’m requesting we direct our staff to be able to fact-check all documents prior to presenting them to us,” she continued. “I’ve also prepared a motion to ensure that all documents containing financial information be fact-checked for accuracy prior to presenting them to council, or the paper, or the public, with appropriate notification so that we are able to address them.”

CAO Tammy Gorgerat read the motion, which noted the integrity of financial information presented to council was vital to ensure informed decision-making and accountability. In addition, it stated the accuracy of financial documents and reports are essential in maintaining public trust and upholding sound fiscal management practices.

It further noted that a timely review and verification of all financial information by staff ensured all financial documents are accurate, clear and reliable. The motion ensures staff has 14 days to review and verify all documents including reports, statements and proposals, with financial implications before they are presented to council, the public, or the press.

Mayor Wants Matter Deferred

When it came time to vote on the resolution, Mayor Mayville said he would like to see it deferred until the next meeting. “So that everybody has a chance to read it and understand it,” he remarked.

Coun. MacMillan said some of the content was taken from similar regulations in other municipalities to ensure council is not receiving documentation that hasn’t been reviewed.

“It’s really challenging for us to uphold the integrity of this council when things are going out that aren’t fact-checked,” she stated.

Mayor Mayville questioned if the resolution would be going into the procedural by-law and was advised it would be. Ms. Gorgerat noted if council passes the resolution, they will give direction as to where it goes, the by-law, and update any other corresponding policies.

Mayor Mayville once again suggested he would like time to review the resolution but Coun. MacMillan reminded him there was a budget meeting coming up and she believed all documents need to be fact-checked prior to that meeting.

“Any information, if it’s not coming from our auditor or from here, it needs to be fact-checked before it’s presented as a piece of paper that the public can see or that can go to the newspaper,” she stressed. “It’s really simple. There’s nothing in there that’s bad. It’s really quite simple.”

Councillor Ted Browne said an article appeared in a local newspaper containing inaccurate numbers and members of the public were approaching council members very upset until being told the numbers were wrong.

“It’s getting people worked up for no reason, and it shouldn’t be out there if it’s not true,” he said.
Coun. MacMillan then referenced a recent clash between Mayor Mayville and the township’s auditor, Will Barr, which only served to cause confusion.

“Things are happening that are confusing us. We sit here, look at each other and kind of go ‘where’s this coming from?’ It’s embarrassing to see these articles in the paper and get letters saying we’re not working together.”

She went on to say council never intends to suffer from lapses of judgement or communication breakdowns, but that it just happens, adding her motion is crucial to preventing these situations and acting in a coherent and dignified manner.

“We all want to work together. None of us are here because we don’t want to do better for our township,” she continued. “We all want to work for our people.”

Councillor Brian Pecoskie pressed for justification as to why the resolution was being held up. “There’s a resolution on the floor. Can we not pass this resolution as a council?” he asked the mayor. “What are you saying, yes or no?”

“Unless I table it,” the mayor responded.

Councillor Carl Kuehl reminded the mayor it was not his decision to table it. “You’ve got one vote, we’ve got six,” he stated.

Mayor Mayville again requested the resolution be delayed another two weeks to the next meeting to be voted on but Coun. Browne requested a recorded vote and council took a brief break to check the procedural by-law because the resolution had been made during the unfinished business portion of the meeting. It was determined the resolution met the criteria.

The recorded vote was held and all members, including Mayor Mayville, supported the resolution.

Wants Apology From Mayor

Coun. MacMillan turned her attention to another issue, a meeting on March 17 where Mr. Barr presented the 2024 financial report to council.

“I found that exchange very uncomfortable and I just want to ask that maybe you’d consider, and I’m speaking to you, Mr. Mayor, reaching out and issuing an apology to Will,” she suggested. “At our all-day finance meeting, (the mayor) had raised questions about the findings and was challenged with no forewarning to him as our auditor.

“The auditor’s report is the result of thorough professional analysis, which was explained to us by our auditor at the beginning of his report,” she continued. “I feel it’s important that we respect the expertise of our hired financial team and trust the integrity of their work.”

She said constantly questioning and undermining their findings creates an atmosphere of doubt that does not serve the best interests of the community. She added she and other councillors agree the ratepayers are becoming very confused about the financial situation.

“While it is entirely appropriate for all of us to engage in meaningful discussions and seek clarification, I found the manner in which the mayor engaged with our auditor, challenging the accuracy of the statements, and offering an alternative interpretation, was not only unprofessional, but also undermines the credibility of our financial reporting process.

“Will is a trusted professional who has been chosen to provide us with accurate, unbiased financial information, and his expertise really should be respected.”

Coun. MacMillan said he has been working for the township for more than 20 years, through thick and thin. She stressed she wanted to infer council needs to respect the appointed professionals to foster a constructive and collaborative environment for council.

Mayor Mayville should issue a public apology to Mr. Barr and council should reach out to him, to let him know how much they appreciate the work and dedication he has provided to the township over the years, she said.

“I think it would go a long way in restoring confidence in our financial processes and demonstrating to the accounting firm, staff and the community that we value professionalism and accountability,” she concluded.

Mayor Mayville did not comment on her request.

Coun. Pecoskie asked Mayor Mayville where he was getting the numbers in the reports he presented. “How are you coming up with these numbers that you present?” he asked.