There was some disagreement at Sackville Town Council on Monday as to whether the suspension of the health benefits of a councillor who was found to be in violation of town council’s code of conduct was properly approved.

Local journalist Bruce Wark reported last week on Councillor Bruce Phinney’s surprise at discovering the suspension of his health plan while visiting a pharmacy to fill some prescriptions.

During question period on Monday, Wark asked council about the specifics of the motion to suspend Phinney’s pay, and why the motion read aloud on July 12 differed from the motion as printed in the approved minutes from the same meeting.

CAO Jamie Burke told Wark that the suspension of Phinney’s benefits, though not specifically mentioned, was implied in the phrasing of the motion that was read.

“The commonly understood legal definition of remuneration income moods includes benefits,” said Burke. “So what’s happened, I guess, is that we’ve got a little error in the minutes that were approved, although the meaning of the motion doesn’t change.”

Councillor Michael Tower read Phinney’s suspension motion on July 12, and on Monday said he would not have done so had he known that the councillor’s health benefits were included.

“The benefits were mentioned during our discussion, and I didn’t agree with that part of it,” said Tower. “And when I got the motion to read and it did not include ‘benefits’ and that was the reason why I made that motion. I wouldn’t have made it if I saw the benefits were part of it.”

Other councillors said they understood that benefits were included in the motion they approved. Councillor Allison Butcher quoted from the Merriam Webster definition of ‘remuneration’, the word used in the motion to censure Phinney.

“The definition of it includes all compensation of which the medical plan is one,” said Butcher. “That’s what how I see it.”

Councillor Bill Evans also said he understood benefits were part of the suspension, and he felt it was “clear to everybody what we were going to do.”

“The motion was read, Councillor Tower read it, and we unanimously voted in favour of it,” said Evans. “So there was no mistake about what we did.”

Phinney’s suspension came after a consultant was hired to look into a number of complaints against the outspoken councillor under the town’s code of conduct policy. Although council and town staff won’t give any information on the nature of the complaints, Phinney told Warktimes that the sanctions stem from remarks he made on two occasions back in February.

At a regular council meeting on February 14, 2022, Phinney made this comment during a discussion about hiring practices:

“We’ve had a number of what I would call unfair hiring practice. That’s because of the fact that… some of the people actually even in the town feel the same way… where family members are being hired, and to me, there was one that I felt was a conflict of interest. So because of that, I think actually we should engage with a human resource management expert to turn around and help with the hiring, so that’s how I feel.”

Later that month, during a meeting on municipal reform, Phinney stated he doesn’t believe students should be able to vote in Sackville’s local elections.

“I have never agreed that students should be part of [municipal elections.] And the reason is, because they’re only citizens here for four years. And sometimes some of the decisions that are made by them can influence us for a very long time. We saw that in the provincial election. When the students are allowed to vote, actually, it’s been said by many professors at the university, the only reason Megan [Mitton] got in was because of the fact that the students were allowed to vote. Now, that comes from experts, not me. So that’s how I feel about it right now. And I think it’d be interesting to see exactly what does happen.”

Sackville CAO Jamie Burke told council in July that consultants Resonance Inc. had been hired in April to look into the complaints against Phinney. The work they did cost the town about $10,000.

A councillor’s annual salary with the town of Sackville is about $7800.

The town’s code of conduct policy is relatively new. It was passed in March 2020, and Phinney has been censured three times under the regulation. This is the first time his pay has been suspended. The code has been criticized by legal and political experts for its potential to stifle “full and frank, open dialogue and debate.”