By rdnewsNOW staff

Independent Review

Council code of conduct investigation concludes in Innisfail

Feb 24, 2021 | 4:09 PM

An external investigation into council code of conduct matters in the Town of Innisfail which began last November has now concluded.

Town officials say council heard a presentation from Shari-Anne Doolaege of SAGE Analytics Inc. (SAGE) during a closed meeting discussion at the Feb. 22 regular meeting of council.

The SAGE Investigation Report C-02-2021 involves allegations made against former town councillor Glen Carritt and the detailed investigation findings were shared with council.

Officials say the investigation findings conclude that Carritt breached several sections of the Council Code of Conduct Bylaw 1612-2018 during his council term.

SAGE found that 29 of 36 allegations had merit and violated the code of conduct. No sanctions were recommended by SAGE, however, as Carritt resigned in January 2021 and no longer serves on Innisfail town council.

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Council accepted the SAGE Investigation Report C-02-2021 and related recommendations regarding council code of conduct matters involving Carritt.

According to officials, SAGE commented that the Carritt investigation was much more complex than the C-03- 2021 (Donald Hill) investigation.

SAGE estimated the total costs and time for the $25,000 project were apportioned at 85 per cent for C-02-2021 (Carritt) and 15 per cent for C-03-2021 (Hill).

Meanwhile, council heard recommendations from SAGE for council to consider updating various sections of the Council Code of Conduct Bylaw 1612-2018. Council directed administration to bring an updated bylaw to council at a future meeting.

Council further noted that the code of conduct bylaw also applies to public members who are appointed to council committees.

In addition, council has authorized the release of the Executive Summary from each of the SAGE investigation reports, C-02-2021 (Carritt) and C-03-2021 (Hill), to be made available to the public.

These documents may be viewed at www.innisfail.ca/codeofconduct, where a copy of the Council Code of Conduct Bylaw 1612- 2018 is also available.

Town officials say council remains committed to upholding the council code of conduct which requires transparency, accountability, and responsible leadership by officials.