Karen Best/The Chronicle
Wednesday, August 15, 2007 - 05:00
Local News - Mayor Marie Trainer’s plea to sort out her email issues over three months was rejected by her council on Monday night. Instead they passed a motion that will automatically funnel all her correspondence into the chief administrative officer’s hands.
The decision adds a new dimension to the job description of the mayor’s assistant and undercuts the limited privacy that residents have in emailing her with information and personal experiences related to situations in Haldimand County. All email in the county’s system is property of the county.
The genesis of correspondence overview is unclear. Trainer received no reports of any injury to Haldimand County arising from delays in responses or information on anything “terrible” happening.
While she made several attempts to sway council from their course, the majority remained steadfast in their conviction that it was essential to county business to have the mayor’s correspondence reviewed by the CAO.
Over the past week, council’s motives were revealed, in part.
On behalf of other councillors, Buck Sloat asked county chief administrative officer Bill Pearce to craft a motion, which suggested Trainer’s email be shared with all six councillors and the clerk. On Aug. 8 council deferred this version to secure further legal advice.
In an email to Trainer, Municipal Affairs and Housing deputy minister John Burke said the Municipal Act does not give clear guidance on the specifics in the motion.
Based on council’s legal advice, an amended motion presented this week was significantly different that the first version, said councillor Lorne Boyko in an interview before the meeting.
On Monday, a crowd of 30 gathered in the council chambers to oppose the attack on the mayor’s privacy.
The revised motion authorized programming automatic copying of Trainer’s email to her assistant and the CAO. The mayor’s assistant will be required to copy all letters for the CAO, who will send mail to the appropriate general managers for action. Also relevant email will be sent to council through the clerk’s office for action. Before emails or correspondence are relayed, personal information will be removed. In six months, the CAO is to report on the effectiveness of this process.
Several times at the meeting, Trainer asked council to withdraw the motion to give her a chance to work out correspondence issues with the new CAO. Bill Pearce, the current CAO, is retiring on Aug. 24.
“There’s no sense in me opening up any emails if the CAO will decide what to do with them,” noted Trainer.
Many council members expressed support for the motion. Boyko said the process will ensure the CAO’s office knows what is happening in the mayor’s office. “It makes sense because this will build a strong bond and communication partnership between two important departments,” he added.
“We’ve had problems in the past,” said councillor Leroy Bartlett. Correspondence distribution is something council wanted immediately, he added.
“This is not meant as a slap or a slur to you,” Bartlett said to Trainer. “It’s meant to help you and the new CAO.”
For, Trainer the resolution was absurd. Because a lot of effort went into contriving the motion, she felt council had private meetings behind her back and had not consulted her. No one had reported any concerns that she would have addressed, she said. Instead of extending that courtesy, council opted for this drastic measure, she added.
“You have left me totally out of the loop. This is unacceptable,” said the mayor. “My duty is to represent the public and consider their well being and interest and I am the mayor and correspondence sent to me is for me not Karen General and the council. This resolution would be an invasion of privacy of the public to speak to their mayor in confidence and is most likely illegal.”
“The closeness, the trust the public has with me is completely taken away,” she said.
She also questioned the lack of a staff report outlining impacts from any email issues including any that put the county in jeopardy as alluded to in the motion.
Norfolk County Mayor Dennis Travale waited two months for a response from the mayor, noted Sloat, who was not interested in Trainer’s personal email messages. She later said council did not want her to respond to Travale.
Sloat also said he met with Trainer several times about correspondence. This continues to be an ongoing issue, he added. He did not receive an open house invitation which was sent to the mayor with a request to forward it to him. As deputy mayor, he did not receive any news about meetings with ministers and other prominent officials. Trainer later said all invitations and emails about ward events are now forwarded to councillors.
“This is absolutely necessary,” Sloat said of correspondence sharing with the CAO.
Councillor Craig Grice said this matter was serious enough for council to feel this step was necessary. An expression of council’s frustration, the protocol is also a way to unite council, he added.
In a recorded vote, only Trainer, Boyko and Grice supported deferring the motion for three months. In the final decision, Bartlett, Boyko, Sloat and councillors Tony Dalimonte and Don Ricker voted to immediately begin sending the mayor’s correspondence to the CAO. Trainer and Grice were opposed.
Turning to the audience, Trainer advised people that her emails will no longer be just opened by her.