Stratford city council’s meeting on Monday night was adjourned early after Barb Shaughnessy, who is banned from attending city property, showed up for the meeting.
Despite Mayor Martin Ritsma’s request for Shaughnessy to leave, she refused.
A recess was called.
The meeting, which had been in progress for about 40 minutes, did not proceed after council members unanimously voted to adjourn, some showing visible frustration.
Councilor Bonnie Henderson characterized the incident as “disrespectful.”
Shaughnessy and Mike Sullivan are banned from entering city-owned buildings for a period of 3 months, or communicating with city staff during that time frame.
The suspension ends the first week of July.
It is alleged offensive statements were made at a Feb. 26 city council meeting and numerous derogatory and misleading comments were made against senior City of Stratford staff, and that the statements were in violation of the city’s respectful workplace policy.
The city received five incident reports from city staff and three reports from three individuals at the Feb. 26 meeting alleging bullying, harassing and threatening behaviour.
The meeting is available on the city’s website.
In an interview with MyStratfordNow, Ritsma said there are rules and regulations that run a council chamber. A process was put in place through the city CAO’s office that follows respectful workplace policy, and council will follow that, the mayor said.
The city provided the lawyer for the accused residents, David Donnelly, with a list of behaviours found to be “disrespectful, derogatory, inappropriate, misleading and vexatious”.
Donnelly said what the city has done to its residents is illegal and described it as “draconian”.
A city council meeting on May 28 was adjourned when Sullivan showed up and last week’s finance and labour relations subcommittee meeting was adjourned when Sullivan again appeared at the meeting.
Those who managed to delegate on Monday night before the meeting ended included Ryan Erb and Elizabeth Cooper from United Way Perth-Huron, as well as Krista Robinson from the Stratford Public Library.
A new council meeting will likely take place on Thursday, along with a public meeting about the Krug property development, also cancelled last month.
Ritsma said the city’s work “must move forward.”
– with files from Tabitha Peters
