Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Greater Napanee CAO John Pinsent has been tasked with finding a professional who will lead a coaching session with mayor Marg Isbester regarding the town’s code of conduct.
Greater Napanee council supported the motion that the CAO would seek out a trainer for the one-time virtual session as part of their Oct. 12 meeting, which was held at the Selby Community Hall. The motion carried with the intent that Pinsent provide an update on the search at the next council meeting, scheduled for Oct. 26.
The coaching session is a follow up from the Sept. 28 meeting following a report from the town’s integrity commissioner regarding a pair of code of conduct complaint lodged against the mayor. The mayor was reprimanded by council for her actions and has since issued an apology. Part of the motion made by council following the report was that the mayor work with a ‘town appointed counselor or coach to address the threatening behaviour as was identified in the integrity commissioner’s report.’
Deputy mayor Max Kaiser assumed the mayor’s chair for the portion of the meeting while council determined how they would identify the coach to lead the session with the mayor. With no qualified in-house solutions, Greater Napanee staff recommended council work with the integrity commissioner to schedule code of conduct training for a cost of $2,200. With lower costs for events due to the pandemic, the town currently has room in their 2021 training budget.
Because the session will be held virtually, there is no additional cost for other staff or members of the public who would want to join the meeting. With that in mind, councillor John McCormack put forward a motion that any town staff interested in tuning in the meeting could do so. Councillor Ellen Johnson agreed, adding members of the public could be invited to tune in as well. The motion failed by a vote of three opposed to two in favour. Councillor Dave Pinnell Jr. stated the optics of town staff attending the meeting would look bad as the coaching session was originally intended for just the mayor.
After the staff recommendation to allow the integrity commissioner to provide the training failed, CAO Pinsent offered the solution that he could come back to council with options for a coach to lead the session. Johnson requested a timeline be added to that suggestion, with Pinsent saying he will bring something forward to the next meeting.
The third attempt at the motion was carried unanimously.