Mayor committed ‘honest error in judgment’, council says

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/06/2012 (5253 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon city council won’t pursue conflict of interest charges against mayor Shari Decter Hirst.

But the legal opinion of Brandon lawyer Bob Patterson, who was asked by the city clerk’s office to look into the matter, was never written down, and therefore can’t be released, the city says.

Decter Hirst was investigated for taking part in debates and decision-making activities regarding the Strand, both in her role as mayor and as a Renaissance Brandon board member.

She also owns property across the street from the Strand Theatre, and her husband, Dr. Derry Decter, is a board member of the Brandon Folk, Music and Art Society — the group that is attempting to secure federal and provincial funding for the theatre’s restoration.

Renaissance Brandon had pledged $474,000 in funding prior to Decter Hirst’s election as mayor, however issues related to the Strand Theatre had been discussed after Decter Hirst became mayor.

It took more than three weeks for the legal advice to be reviewed, and the city now says that there was never a written opinion — media reports to the contrary notwithstanding.

In a statement this afternoon, the city said that councillors had discussed "at great length" the verbal legal advice — with the mayor not present — and that councillors accept any errors by the mayor were inadvertent.

Any actions "which may have been a breach of The Municipal Councils Conflict of Interest Act were not done with any improper motive and were an honest error in judgment, committed unknowingly or through inadvertence," the statement said.

However, the city added that mayoral and councillor roles on boards, commissions and other agencies, would be immediately reviewed.

The idea that the mayor was in a possible conflict of interest was initially dismissed by City Hall.

"Because it wasn’t a matter dealt with by city council, there is no conflict of interest," city clerk Con Arvisais told the Sun in mid-May. 

Arvisais acts as an adviser to councillors and the mayor over matters of conflict of interest.

However, a few days later, his department decided to seek legal clarification — something they said happened once or twice per term.

If Decter Hirst had been found to be in conflict of interest, city council could have asked the Court of Queen’s Bench to make a ruling on the matter.

"The ultimate repercussions are, if someone is found to be in a conflict of interest where there is a direct or indirect pecuniary gain and haven’t declared it, there is a provision that the judge could disqualify them from council and declare their seat vacant," deputy city clerk Heather Ewasiuk has said.

Ewasiuk added that the judge could also rule that the lack of disclosure was inadvertent and that there would be no penalty issued.

It’s not necessarily the responsibility of city council, or city staff, to investigate conflicts of interest.

Any elector, or person who has the right to vote in the affected municipality, can make a similar request by applying to the Court of Queen’s Bench. They will need to pay the filing fee and provide an affidavit to the court stating their allegation and what the potential issue is.