An unusual resolution that expresses confidence in three town staff members was passed by Erin council after a special closed meeting on Aug 13.
The session, labelled an “emergency” meeting by town officials and held just two days after council’s regular meeting, was called to discuss “an HR matter,” said Mayor Allan Alls.
“It was a closed meeting, but we needed to deal with it immediately,” he added.
The resolution states “council expresses strong confidence in the leadership of Bob Cheetham, economic development coordinator; Maria Britto, chair of the EEDC (Erin Economic Development Committee); and Kathryn Ironmonger, chief administration officer.”
Asked if the closed meeting dealt with a complaint, Alls said, “No, I’m trying to be careful here because what we discussed was in closed session, but basically the resolution stands as is … “I guess you could surmise it must have been something that came up that caused a resolution.”
When asked about the motion, councillor Matt Sammut said, “it is a little strange, isn’t it?”
He told the Advertiser, “(The) bottom line is we’re comfortable … with our economic development person, our CAO and the chair, I guess, of the committee at this time. We want to make sure our economic development committee as well as the plan overall finds success.”
Neither Sammut nor Alls would offer more details about the council discussion or why the closed meeting was held.
This is the second time in less than two years Erin councillors have taken the unusual step of passing a motion that expresses support for staff. On Dec. 17, 2013, the previous council passed a “vote of confidence” stating the CAO/ town manager was fulfilling responsibilities of the position to the satisfaction of council.
