According to The Windsor Star, Chief Tim Berthiaume stated, “We’ll require all hourly employees … to swipe in and out at the beginning and at the end of their shift.” If the aim of the new clock is to tighten control over the management of employees’ work time, shouldn’t the Chief and Deputy Chief also have to swipe in and out? Wouldn’t they want to participate so as not to give the appearance that they are exempt from accountability?
Read more: The Windsor Star
Police service board chairman John Sutton said “an offer was made” and the board “debated its merits. “We’re always open to anything.”
Sutton said the offer came from the defence during a meeting two weeks ago between the lawyers where an “overture” was made that was presented to the board.
Sutton said the board’s decision to accept the offer was “a business decision.”
He estimated it would have cost in excess of $240,000 to litigate the case.
A financial settlement of $110,000, which works out to one year’s pay, plus $1,300 owed in stat time that Sutton said the service is legally obligated to pay, was agreed to.
“This allows both parties to move on,” Sutton said.
Read the full story about Colleen Sterling, at the windsor star – Amherstburg cop resigns, settles case for $110K.
Legal arguments regarding motions and evidence will continue on April 15. Read the full story at The Windsor Star.
Despite contraventions found, the municipal audit committee will not commence legal proceedings against Mayor Wayne Hurst who, as an individual, could have faced a fine of up to $25,000. Read full story – The Amherstburg Echo
At a Police Act Hearing held on the weekend, Amherstburg Police Sgt. Colleen Stelring pleaded not guilty to 32 charges. Full story – The Windsor Star.
The Windsor Star article states, “Sterling has been suspended with pay since Aug.31, 2011, as required by the Police Services Act” leading one to conclude that the suspension was required; however, the Police Services Act requires that when a decision is made to suspend an officer, the officer must be paid.
Full Story at The Windsor Star Police Act Hearing for Amherstburg’s Sgt. Sterling gets underway.
A town official is refusing to release an auditor’s report on the election expenses of Mayor Wayne Hurst.
Read more: Amherstburg mayor’s audit under wraps.
time will tell if it’s posturing or an attempt to make real changes following the Ombudsman’s investigative findings that the town contravened the Municipal Act in its handling of several in-camera meetings in January 2011. according to the amherstburg echo, (full story), sutton believes his january 23 motion will serve as a starting point towards rectifying the damage done by the ombudsman report.
the damage was done by members of council who continued to participate in the practice, despite the Ombudman’s March 17, 2011 letter to the town, in which it stated, “In the future, Council should be vigilant in ensuring that the most appropriate exception or exceptions are cited in the resolution to proceed into closed session, and that all discussions taking place in camera fall within the cited exception(s). This ensures that the public is fully aware of why Council is proceeding into closed session, and increases the transparency of the Council process.” The letter further stated, “In the future, Council should ensure that no voting takes place during closed session, unless the vote is for a procedural matter and/or giving direction to staff, in accordance with s. 239(6) of the Act”.
sutton also mentioned that some of the errors found by the Ombudsman were clerical errors that have to be corrected; some clerical errors at the amherstburg police station had to also be corrected.
i requested an amherstburg police services board motion regarding my correspondence to the board, but i received a criminal records check of another individual that was emailed to me in error. during the course of an Information and Privacy Commission Ontario investigation, i learned that Chief Tim Berthiaume explained that the secretary scanned and attached the email and attachment without confirming the contents. Additionally, the board explained that unfortunately, it was not until my second email that the person responsible for the error understood the situation. i had emailed twice that i was not interested in any personal information but my own. in an october 28, 2011 letter, the IPC analyst advised that she was satisfied with the assurances that the board would continue to take any steps they felt appropriate to obtain my confirmation that the record had been deleted.
chief tim berthiaume sent two letters requesting that i immediately delete and confirm that it has been deleted as soon as possible. in his june 28, 2011 letter, he stated, in part, “the amherstburg police service takes privacy issues very seriously.” how ironic that my june 2011 inquiry to the board related to a breach of my information and the board decided to dismiss it; read john sutton’s letter. note: clerical errors in the letter are not mine.
it will take time to restore the public trust. council should act as councillor pouget suggests: thank the Ombudsman, take the report seriously and take the free training – that would be a good starting point.
