Township of Madoc Deputy Mayor Larry Rollins will remain deputy mayor for now ,pending a review.
Council held a special meeting Tuesday to deal with the matter.
In a previous press release, the township reported council recently became aware that the required post-election financial statement for 2022 for the deputy mayor was not filed as mandated under the Municipal Elections Act.
Rollins was acclaimed as deputy mayor in the last municipal election.
The township said as required by the Municipal Act, council would be declaring the deputy mayor’s seat vacant and take steps to fill the vacant seat.
That did not happen and instead council has deferred a decision on the matter until an internal investigation is completed.
The issue came to light when Rollins recently filed papers to run for mayor in this fall’s election.
It was only then he was informed that he had not filed his 2022 election expense report and could not run in the upcoming election and would be removed from his current role.
Since he was acclaimed in 2022, Rollins did not take any donations or spend any money to campaign.
He was not informed that he still had to sign a financial report even if it read zero dollars.
He says he should have received a registered letter informing him of the oversight but he did not get one and that had he been told, he would have filed the statement.
Dozens of people attended Tuesday’s meeting.
Councillor Amy Beaton spoke in support of Rollins saying, “The deputy mayor has served nearly the entire term in good faith, with no evidence of intent to avoid filing. What we are looking at here is not willful noncompliance. It is on its face, a failure of process.”
Beaton put forward the following motion:
That council directs the appropriate authority to conduct a formal administrative review of the processes and procedures related to notification of statutory filing requirements for members of council. And further that, the review include, but not be limited to a detailed outline of the standard practises of protocols for candidates and members of council of filing deadlines. A record of what notifications, reminders, or communications were issued in relation to the 2022 municipal election financial statement filings. Identification of any inconsistencies or gaps in the application of these procedures, and recommendations for standardized documented processes to ensure consistent application for all members going forward. And further that a report outlining the findings and recommendations be brought back to council in an open session at the earliest opportunity, and further that any recommended procedural improvements be implemented in advance of the next municipal election.
Council voted in favour of the motion.
Rollins told Quinte News he is pleased with the outcome even though the issue is not yet fully resolved.
“Last night’s meeting went very well,” said Rollins. “Things are not resolved, but they’ve been deferred, and my seat is still my seat. The municipality, we had a great crowd from the municipality, and it’s very nice to see that we are going to be able to start to fix this … and it is very troubling for the municipality to see this happening. So, we are in a place where we’re moving forward in a very positive way.”
Rollins says he will remain in contact with his lawyer throughout the review process and still intends to run for mayor.
Listen to Rollins’s statement to council below:
