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Your Independent Local Newspaper Established in 1918 VOLUME 104: ISSUE 11
www.tofieldmerc.com
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2021
Ryley Councillor resigns, CAO placed on paid leave services of a professional to conduct a forensic in-
MOUSH JOHN Editor
The community of Ryley started with a tumultuous municipal term of four years last week when newly elected Ryley Councillor Kumson resigned, and the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Village of Ryley, Glen Hamilton-Brown was placed on paid leave. According to Ryley residents and ratepayers, two of the Village staff had resigned, while one has gone on leave; neither of these could be verified. Additionally, there was a notice on the office door that the Village of Ryley office would be ‘closed until further notice’ and a letter to the residents from the new council, which stated that ‘the council was looking to clarify certain matters within the administration of the Village of Ryley’ and it outlined the following: ‘The Village is looking to engage the
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I have full intention of complying in every way with council’s order and I expect that this investigation will accurately confirm that I have not engaged in any wrongdoing or mismanagemnet of finances. vestigation of its financial records’; ‘the current CAO, Glen HamiltonBrown, remains an em-
ployee of the Village, and has been placed on paid leave’; ‘no misconduct on the part of any employee of the Village, including the current CAO, has been found to date, as the forensic investigation has not yet been commenced and thus no findings have been issued’; ‘no employees of the Village have, to date, been terminated’; and it ended with a request that all questions and concerns be directed to Michael Bolch, who had been appointed the interim CAO, and also happens to be the CAO of Highway 14 Regional Water Services Commission. Mayor Nikita Lee was unavailable for comments, and did not return any call or correspondence except on Monday, Nov. 8, saying he was busy in a meeting. When Bolch was contacted for clarifications and comments, he said, “You need to talk to Mayor Nik Lee.” However, when he was informed that it wasn’t a council matter but ad-
A notice was posted last weekon the office door of the Village of Ryley stating it was closed until further notice.
ministrative, and that the Ryley Mayor was not returning calls, he agreed to respond to Tofield Mercury’s questions. His response stated right up front “these are off the record and talking information only.” Given this situation, his comments cannot be reprinted verbatim without his permission, and we can only report that the response included a synopsis of 10 bullet points, none of which di-
DR MARC KALLAL DR TIFFANY LIM DR JEANETTE TRAC
5024 51 AVE PH: 780-662-0104
rectly answered any of the questions asked. Residents of Ryley have taken to social media platforms, and are in the process of formulating a petition to the Municipal Affairs. At the organizational meeting held on Tuesday, Oct. 26, Ryley residents noted that Mayor Lee said that CAO HamiltonBrown was to contact a lawyer for council to discuss the CAO’s contract and he would provide a
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list of legal firms that could be contacted for the meeting with the council; and ordered with immediate effect he was to stop posting on all social media that represented the Village of Ryley. When HamiltonBrown was contacted for further comments, he said, “I was placed on a Leave of Absence with pay, by Council of the Village of Ryley on Nov. 3, Continued on Page 9
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