By Rosalind Russell – A councillor with the Township of the North Shore will have pay suspended following the findings of the Integrity Commissioner.
Last Wednesday, council voted to suspend the pay of Councillor Richard Welburn for 60 days after IC Tony Fleming identified several codes of conduct breaches related to “aggressive and bullying” communications with staff over the past year.
The complaints involved several emails, which Fleming stated the overall tone was sarcastic, appeared intentionally provocative and meant to provoke a reaction from staff.
Council also approved a recommendation that Welburn’s communication with staff will only be through email and directed to the mayor for a period of 12 months.
Welburn told Fleming he didn’t agree with the findings and the sanctions have little to no impact on the work relationship between him and the staff.
The Ward 1 councillor then apologized to residents for the taxpayers’ money wasted on the complaints.
It’s not the first time for Welburn, who had sanctions imposed by council after eight breaches were identified by the commissioner the year before.
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