Coun. Shila Sharps has asked for city council to determine the exact details behind a remaining sanction on Mayor Linnsie Clark which significantly limits her interactions with any and all city staff.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
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The new year could begin with council dealing with lingering issues from a court-ordered review of its sanctions of Mayor Linnsie Clark last year.
Medicine Hat’s elected officials spent about four hours in closed sessions interviewing potential integrity commissioners on Monday night.
That occurred before and after an open session that ended with Coun. Shila Sharps calling on council to finally determine how and where Clark can interact with senior staff.
That is the only issue still outstanding from a court-judgment largely won by Clark in the summer that restored her pay and place chairing council meetings.
That Aug. 27 ruling didn’t weigh in on council’s authority to find that Clark violated council’s code of conduct -the complaint was filed by Sharps – but said council should revisit a sanction limiting her ability to enter the administrative areas of city hall into something more workable.
On Monday, Sharps said the issue has largely sat untouched and should be dealt with now.
“It should have been done when (the court decision) came back, but while I think everyone had good intentions, it just got away from us with the budget (last fall),” Sharps told the media.
Clark, as well, said the issue is a concern to her; she didn’t push the issue, but potentially since council hasn’t addressed the issue, the sanction could be considered moot.
“Nothing has been put in its place, but still I’m locked out of certain areas of city hall,” she told the News.
Neither Sharps or Clark would discuss the court direction given by Alberta King’s Bench Justice Rosemary Nation that council should decide new rules to manage Clark’s interaction with senior staff.
Last March council sanctioned Clark for her actions during an exchange with city manager Ann Mitchell in 2023.
Some penalties, such as a 50 per cent salary reduction, losing the chair at council and role as “council spokesperson,” were unreasonable, Justice Nation ruled.
Clark’s lawyer’s argued in court the rules limiting her interaction with employees would put her in jeopardy by talking to her own personal assistant, or by walking into a store if one of the city’s 1,200 employees were present. Clark said Monday that level of scrutiny hasn’t been enforced.
Nation said some guard rails should be established as general good human resources practice in disputes between parties in the same workplace, but council’s limitations were ill-defined, and should be revised.
Sharp’s notice of motion means it will be debated at council’s Jan. 20 meeting. It asks council deliberate at a future in-camera meeting and announce the results publicly, in similar fashion to the original sanctioning.
“It needs to go back to the councillors – and I won’t be in the meeting and Mayor Clark won’t be in the meeting – but I think the resolution is just moving forward at this point,” said Sharps.
