Quinte West City Council supported the recommendations laid out in a report by the city’s Integrity Commissioner calling on a reprimand for a former member of the Board of Directors of the Trenton Downtown Business Improvement Area at its meeting on Wednesday.
The DBIA is a committee of council and therefore is regulated by the city’s code of conduct.
In April, a downtown businessperson filed a formal complaint alleging aggressive bullying behaviour by former board member Brandy Brown the day after an Annual General Meeting.
Following that incident, the complainant also alleged that Brown spoke with another individual and told them not to work with the complainant because, “she did not play well in the sandbox with others.”
In Integrity Commissioner Tony Fleming’s report, the actual interaction was said to be brief and both the complainant and Brown agreed they both accused each other of bullying.
Fleming ruled that a disagreement in itself did not breach the code, however, threatening to end a business relationship and asking another person to stop being friends with the complainant was a form of intimidation and a breach of the Code of Conduct.
“This type of petty infighting and retaliation that involves other members of the DBIA does not create an environment that fosters the principles espoused by the DBIA and does not give the public confidence in the governance of the DBIA,” Fleming stated in the conclusion of his report.
“For these reasons, the Integrity Commissioner recommends that council issue a formal reprimand to the member.”
Brown was part of the exodus of members who resigned from the board earlier this month.
A link to the report can be found at the City of Quinte West’s website.
