Conduct complaints about two councillors officially dismissed

Complaints about the conduct of two Prince Edward County councillors have been dismissed by the integrity commissioner. The report is made public as it goes to council for Tuesday night’s meeting.

It states the integrity commissioner received two formal complaints Nov. 9, 2024 alleging councillors Sam Branderhorst and Kate MacNaughton violated the code of conduct for members of council.

Specifically, violations related to Section 2 which requires council members to act with integrity, and Section 7, which relates to the improper use of influence.

The complaints related to a council decision in September to disband the Athol Recreation Committee, a motion moved by Branderhorst and seconded by MacNaughton.

Since January, six members had resigned from the committee, and the chair left late summer.

The motion came months after discussions over whether to allow the use of Athol Town Hall as a childcare facility. During those discussions, in May 2024, Branderhorst had pointed out the municipality was considering selling under-used facilities which one day could include the Athol town hall.

In July it was announced an agreement was not reached to renovate and create 24 needed pre-school spots at the hall in Cherry Valley.

The complaints against Branderhorst alleged she violated both sections – 2 by moving that the Athol Recreation Committee be dissolved, and 7 where at a meeting of ARC in May, she advised members that council was in the process of reviewing underused properties owned by the County to determine if any could be disposed in order to raise funds for the municipality. She suggested the proposal to use the Town Hall for the satellite daycare could be an opportunity to increase usage rates for the facility.

For MacNaughton, the complaints alleged she violated Section 7 by seconding the motion to dissolve the committee. The motion was carried by council. The complaints also claimed she made social media remarks that maligned members of the committee, violating Section 2 in the process.

The integrity commissioner’s investigation found both councillors did not violate the code of conduct with any of their actions, and all complaints were dismissed.

As the County was between the firing of one commissioner (October) and the hiring of another (February), the firm of Aird & Berlis LLP had been appointed Integrity Commissioner on an interim basis.

A Closed Meeting Investigation was also held in January this year following two complaints made about the session meeting last September where discussion about the Athol Recreation Committee led to the motion to dissolve.

That investigation also found no contravention of the Municipal Act, and confirmed the meeting was held properly to make advisory committee appointment decisions.