Rocky View County council rejected a counter offer from councillors Kevin Hanson, Samanntha Wright and deputy mayor Crystal Kissel in-camera Feb.1, but it's not clear what the offer was.
Sanctions were imposed on the three councillors after they were accused of breaching council's code of conduct for sending a letter to the Rocky View Weekly in 2019. The language in the letter was deemed discourteous and disrespectful by council colleagues. The sanctions were set aside by the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench in 2020.
The Feb. 1 meeting comes after the matter was discussed privately at the Nov. 30, 2021, meeting, when council voted 2-2 to withdraw their previous appeal against the verdict of Justice James Eamon.
The following week, council directed administration to withdraw the appeal “subject to conditions.”
In a statement to the Rocky View Weekly on Feb. 2, the county said since that early December meeting, RVC staff have been working through those conditions, and council was to receive an update Feb. 1.
“Please know that the information itself is protected and it was legally required for council to move in-camera to protect the confidentiality of the matter,” the statement read.
“Council is still intending to resolve the matter if possible, and we once again ask for… patience as we continue navigating this process to fulfill the Dec. 7 council decision. When we’re in a position that we can share further information, we will certainly do so.”
Last July, Kissel introduced a notice of motion to withdraw the county’s appeal of Kissel et al vs. Rocky View County. Eamon’s verdict in that legal battle, delivered in July 2020, was to set aside sanctions previously imposed on Kissel, Hanson, and Wright.
READ MORE: Deleted item sparks argument among RVC councillors
Hanson said he, Kissel, and Wright had to recuse themselves from the in-camera discussion on Feb. 1, as they are directly involved.
“It would have been really nice to put everything in a cardboard box, tape it shut, put it all behind us, and move on,” Hanson said. “That still might happen — we’ll have to see. We have until the middle of the month to go back and forth a bit before we have to commit to putting the lawyers to work for the appeal cases, both for the county and for us.”
The Div. 1 councillor said the rest of council’s decision to reject the counter offer didn’t surprise him. He said he couldn't discuss the details due to its legal nature.
“It’s a complicated matter with lots of moving parts and a lot of history,” he said. “I think it’s difficult for everybody to understand all those moving parts. I think the three of us have a pretty good handle on it, because it’s closer to home, so to speak, because we’re paying for the lawyers directly and are a little more involved.”
After Eamon set the sanctions aside in July 2020, Hanson, Wright, and Kissel sued RVC for $96,000 in back pay in March 2021, arguing they should be reimbursed for their lost wages.
The $32,000 sought by each councillor reflects their reduced pay over the 13-month period they were sanctioned.
“The three of us continue to want to really move forward and put this behind us,” Hanson said. “It does have to be fair, though, and I think you could say we understand the county has to be protected and they have their interests, but we also have to be treated fairly as well. We’re quite open to a fair settlement and putting it behind and moving forward.”
