2 RM of Sherwood council members failed on conflict of interest rules, ombudsman says

Two council members with the Rural Municipality of Sherwood, one former and one current, failed to avoid a conflict of interest in 2016, according to a report released Friday by Saskatchewan's ombudsman.

According to ombudsman Mary McFadyen, Joe Repetski and Tim Probe should have left the room when a meeting of the RM council on Jan. 13, 2016, turned to the subject of recovering legal fees that had been reimbursed to the two.

The legal fees $11,000 for Repetski and $50,000 for Probe related to an external review initiated by the province into how a proposed development, called Wascana Village, had been handled.

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McFadyen said the two council members had a personal interest in the topic of legal fees but remained in the room to hear a presentation from a delegation of voters on the issue.

In her review of the matter, McFadyen said the two council members should have left when the topic came up.

Resignation needed, says ombudsman

According to the ombudsman, failing to declare a conflict means the two should be removed from council and barred from joining any council in the province for 12 years in accordance with provincial legislation.

Repetski, who did not run in last fall's local elections, is no longer a council member and McFadyen said no further action is needed regarding him.

She said Probe should resign immediately andif he doesn't, the RM should consider getting a court order to remove him from council.

Probe has already stepped away from his council dutieson a council-approved leave, while another legal matter works its way through the courts.

On Friday, Probe said he was reviewing the report and considering his options and would have more to say after the weekend.

When it comes to the legal fees, the RM decided last fall to start legal proceedings to recover the money. A previous RM council had approved paying the bills but that was challenged in court and overturned.

The old councildidn't do anything on the issue until it was brought back to the agenda in January 2016.

McFadyen's report considered the views of Repetski and Probe, who insisted they remained at the January meeting because council was debating a procedural point.

She didn't accept those arguments.

The RM of Sherwood borders the city of Regina.

After the release of her report, McFadyen was asked how other people serving on municipal councils in Saskatchewan could learn from her observations.

"Do what's required of them under the act," McFadyen said, referencing legislation for local governments. "Being very transparent and [ensuring] it's obvious that they're working in the best interest of the community and not trying to further their private interests."