A report from the acting integrity commissioner, which found a council member breached the Code of Conduct, is coming to a special meeting of council Thursday.
The report says based on evidence, the respondent, Councillor Sara Inch, breached a couple articles of the Code of Conduct in the way she treated the complainant, Deputy Mayor Maggie Horsfield.
“Based on the preponderance of evidence, as it relates to the three (3) specific allegations set out in Section V (Summary of the Complaint) of this report, I conclude that the Respondent treated the Complainant in a manner that was contrary to Article VIII of the Code of Conduct. As I find that there was a breach of Article VIII of the Code of Conduct, I also find that Article VI of the Code of Conduct was also breached,” states the executive summary.
It goes on to say, “Email comments about the complainant’s age and pregnancy were insulting, discriminatory on the basis of age and sex, and amounted to harassment in breach of Article VIII(a), (b) and (c) of the Code of Conduct.”
The report also says social media posts violated the Code of Conduct.
Council will be deciding if a penalty should be imposed.
Options include either a reprimand or suspension of pay for up to 90 days.
A city staff report says more than $36,000 has been spent on the matter, with up to $75,000 budgeted each year for Integrity Commissioner investigations.
