A Gibbons councillor is in some hot water after being hit with a letter of reprimand.
Last Wednesday (May 10), councillor Amber Harris received a letter from deputy mayor Willis Kozak detailing the improper use of Harris' town credit card.
An investigation into Harris' behaviour started in mid-April after council received a formal letter of complaint from Mayor Dan Deck.
The investigation found multiple instances of alleged credit card misuse happening between February and March of this year.
The first instance occurred on February 17 as Harris is alleged to have used the credit card to pay for personal vehicle insurance, costing a total of $430.66. From there, council outlined four separate March withdrawals from ATMs totalling up to just over $2000.
These amounts were eventually repaid in full on April 12.
As a result, town council has deemed that these actions broke three sections of the Council Code of Conduct including:
- Section 1(c): '[Council members are expected to] exercise their duties with care, diligence, and skill and place the interests of the Town ahead of their own personal interests.
- Section 7: 'No Councillor shall engage in any activity which is incompatible or inconsistent with the ethical conduct of official duties in the public interest. Members of Council must govern themselves as set out in legislation and strive to avoid any activities in which their personal interests may come into conflict, or may appear to conflict, with the interests of the Town. Doing so will ensure residents continue to have confidence in the integrity of members of Council and the Town.'
- Section 9: 'No member of Council shall use, or permit the use of facilities, equipment, supplies, services or other resources for personal benefit or the benefit of any other individual.'
Harris has been removed from all council committees and other appointed bodies and is no longer able to be paid for any work associated with those appointments.
She has also been asked to return her corporate credit card.