Setting the Record Straight: Concerned Citizens Letters regarding Conflict of Interest
There has been some misinformation circulating about the letters Concerned Citizens of New-Wes-Valley sent to Council and Municipal Affairs following the suspension of Councillor Howell from a complaint by town staff. When complaints are sent to Council they are supposed to be confidential, so why are people outside of Council chatting about these letters? The CAO herself stated in an email to the NWV concerned citizens that,
“As noted in my previous email it is deemed necessary to know the complainants' names(s) who have filed this complaint. This is to ensure there is no breach of confidentiality. During the process of a complaint under the Municipal Conduct Act, the only parties who are given the complaint and response are myself, the complainant and the respondent”.
Has there been a breach of privacy?
We want to clarify the facts about the letters. Please read them for yourselves here:
Our letters were submitted to highlight broader concerns about potential conflicts of interest among other Council members—particularly those who also serve in volunteer roles. Councillor Howell’s case raised important questions, and we believe those questions deserve consistent scrutiny across the board. All conflicts of interest came from Council Minutes.
On May 2 at 4:00 PM, we received an email from the CAO saying that our submission could not be accepted because it did not include individual names. And if we want to continue, we had to reply with names. Then, without any opportunity for us to clarify or respond, the letters were dismissed entirely during the Council meeting on May 6th.
These letters were sent to make a point: that it's easy to identify conflicts of interest if you look hard enough.
We believe the community deserves transparency and a fair process when legitimate questions are brought forward—regardless of who raises them.
We remain committed to accountability and respectful civic engagement, and we urge Council to do the same.
— Concerned Citizens of New-Wes-Valley
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This to some may seem "childish" but the fact is all the above concerns are conflict of interest. Especially for Councillor Smith, that is unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteBut the fact is they voted for Councillor Howell to vacate her seat for much less than half of these conflicts of interest. So we should be asking ourselves why? What makes all these other councillors have different rules?
I'm willing to bet not one of the concern citizens want any councillors to loose their seat, but for an explanation as to why everyone hasn't been treated fairly.
Ring leaders and bullies within the halls/walls of town hall NWV
ReplyDeleteI wonder why everything is anonymous, I would like to know who is head over the Concerned Citiz
ReplyDeleteOne reason is a lack of trust in the current council not to take it out on the individuals personally.
DeleteThere is no Head over the Concerned Citizens group. There is no structure and no organization. We're simply a group of people interested in making our town a better place. We meet every now and then to discuss problems in this town, share stories, and brainstorm about what can be done to make some changes.
I started the blog, someone else started a Facebook page.
One newsletter was distributed.
That's it. Any mystery about who is behind anything is all made up. I have always had my name attached to the blog. I left comments open to be posted anonymously because sometimes it's easier to say what might need to be said if no one knows who said it. Maybe some people don't want to have others make fun of their writing abilities, or maybe they are just shy. And that's okay.
Why did you post your comment anonymously?