For the second time in less than a week, Rocky View County has asked for the disqualification of Councillor Samanntha Wright.

At last week's regular Rocky View County Council meeting, Wright was accused of violating the pecuniary interests section of the Municipal Government Act.

Wright is believed to have violated the rules when she participated in public hearings, discussions, and votes in relation to a property immediately adjacent to land owned by Wright and her husband.

Read more: Rocky View County Council seeks to disqualify fellow councillor

With the exception of Wright and fellow Councillors Crystal Kissel and Kevin Hanson, Council voted in favour of applying to the Court of Queen's Bench to have Wright removed.

Now, Wright has once again been asked to step down for allegedly failing to pay property taxes.

At a special Council meeting held Monday, January 20, Councillor Daniel Henn read out a motion citing Section 174 of the Municipal Government Act that states a councillor should be disqualified if they cease to be eligible for nomination as an election candidate.

Under the Local Authorities Election Act, a person cannot be nominated as an election candidate if they owe more than $50 in taxes in their electoral division.

"Councillor Wright owns property in the County as one of two owners on title," Councillor Henn read. "Councillor Wright has not paid property taxes owing on her property for 2018 or 2019. Including penalties, property tax arrears for Councillor Wright's property are $10,572.27."

Prior to the vote, Councillor Wright asked for a motion that the decision be postponed to give her time to speak with her lawyer, however that motion was voted down.

"Without being able to speak to my lawyer properly, I don't have anything to say," Wright said when given the opportunity to comment. "I would have hoped that you would have just given me the time to speak with them and understand everything since you did just spring this on me this morning, but that's not the case and so I don't know what else to say."

According to a news release, the issue of Wright's unpaid taxes was uncovered last week during administration's regular yearly process of notifying property owners with two years of tax arrears.

The release reads: "The County sends a series of letters and notices to those who have not paid their property taxes, but the process is based on tax roll numbers. After two years of non-payment, the debt is registered with Alberta Land Titles, and the names of the property owners become a more apparent part of the process. Once it became clear the taxes and late penalties were on a property owned by a councillor, administration immediately brought the matter to the attention of legal counsel for an opinion."

According to County administration, a process has now been implemented to monitor councillor debt annually and no other councillors have property taxes owing.

“Last week Council asked Councillor Wright to resign over pecuniary interest issues involving her property," says Rocky View County Reeve Greg Boehlke. "This week we discover the same property is in tax arrears, again putting her in violation of the Municipal Government Act’s provisions regarding the Local Authorities Election Act. We have no choice but to again ask her to resign, and to apply to the court should she refuse."

Reeve Boehlke says it's deeply concerning for a councillor to accept a salary from tax dollars and not pay property taxes for two years.

“These are serious matters, but there is also an issue of trust,” Reeve Boehlke says. “As councillors, we set tax rates and require property owners to pay for the many programs and services Rocky View County offers. We can’t maintain roads, offer fire and police protection, or provide recreation opportunities without these funds."

County voted in favour of giving Councillor Wright until January 28 to resign. If she refuses, Rocky View County will apply to the Court of Queen's Bench to have her removed.

Councillors Wright, Kissel, and Hanson voted against both last week's motion and the latest one to have Councillor Wright removed from her duties.

The same three councillors were censured and sanctioned by Rocky View County council last June.

They were accused of violating sections of the Code of Conduct that deal with fair and respectful communication and were removed from County committees and boards.

In September, a group called 'Stop Our Sanctions' launched a petition in response, asking Alberta Municipal Affairs to inspect the management, administration, and operations of Rocky View County.

 

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