Grimsby Mayor Jeff Jordan is set to pay the town back as a result of a breach of conduct committed in July 2020.
Town councillors voted to have the mayor pay the $1,302.62 assessed cost of the breach by the town’s clerk, at a committee of the whole meeting Feb 16.
The designated amount is representative of the cost to the town.
A report by integrity commissioner Charles Harnick presented at the last committee of the whole meeting resolved that the actions of the mayor last year were “trivial and without consequence.” Grimsby council then voted to have the town clerk investigate costs associated with the matter, and per the most recent report, the total cost of the matter to the town is $9,978, including the investigation.
The report states $1,302.62 of that amount was charged to the town of Grimsby by the anonymous individual associated with Jordan and the conduct breach. After some deliberation, councillors voted to have Jordan pay that money back with Dunstall, Richie, Kadwell and Vaine voting yes; Freake, Bothwell and Vardy voting no; and Jordan abstaining from a vote.
Given the ambiguity of what exactly the individual was charging for beyond “correspondence” with the mayor and chief administrative officer Harry Schlange, council then voted unanimously in favour of having the chief administrative officer provide breakdown of the individual’s charge.
So far this term, Grimsby council has spent a total $43,980.67 on code of conduct complaints and an additional $5,547.56 on administration fees charged by the integrity commission.