New bacchanal at City Hall… Town Clerk, Treasurer reduce PRO’s salary – Mayor, Councillors outraged

WHAT started off as a seemingly uneventful statutory meeting of the Georgetown City Council, quickly turned into a state of affairs that could be termed “the new normal.” Pandemonium reigned when Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green hinted at what he called the “arbitrary cutting” of salaries and stipends by the City administration, headed by acting Town Clerk, Carol Sooba. 

This revelation prompted Mayor Green, through the city’s councillors, to request a formal analysis, “so that we could demand a written explanation to what appears to be an improper administrative action.”

But Acting Town Clerk, Carol Sooba, who was fingered in the matter along with City Treasurer, Ron McAlmont, is adamant that her decision was one that could stand up to the scrutiny of the law.

Sooba is of the view that Royston King’s current matter before the courts was sufficient grounds for issuance of the order to make deductions to the embattled PRO’s salary.

“I understand that deductions were made at the behest of the Treasurer’s Department for the PRO. I’m wondering if we could have an explanation for that. This is unprecedented,” Georgetown Mayor, Hamilton Green said as he demanded an explanation.

In a court document dated August 25, 2014 seen by this publication, it was noted: “Royston King on the 13th day of July 2012, at Georgetown, in the Georgetown Magisterial District, county of Demerara, in the state of Guyana, wrote a letter to the Beacon Foundation and signed same purporting that he was the town clerk acting, which position he did not hold at the said time.”

Mayor Green questioned whether the instruction from the town clerk’s office was in writing, but while McAlmont responded in the affirmative, he could not produce those letters. This sparked some murmuring among the councillors, who were shocked by the discovery.

“Was there reasoning given in that letter from your recollection?” the mayor asked as the treasurer responded: “I cannot remember all the details, your Worship, but it also was a part of the officer’s personal file based upon the directive of the town clerk.”

Almost incitingly, Green asked for clarification on whether the treasurer “acted on the instruction of the acting town clerk to deduct monies, lawfully due, to Mr. Royston King the Public Relations Officer, is that what you’re saying to us?”

“As I said, that instruction came from the town clerk acting!” he said again. Becoming the focus of the meeting, McAlmont was grilled on whether he had offered any advice to the town clerk about the legality of the decision.

McAlmont explained: “A memo… was presented to the treasurer in the first instance and I had written the town clerk based upon that. It was just a memo and the documents that were required, the police report and all of that came via the file to institute that deduction.”

Green interrupted the treasurer with the question: “Did you seek to advise the person who gave you those instructions about the financial regulations or the possible impropriety of such action, or whether it was based on any regulation that you know…?”

“No, Your Worship, I did not,” he responded. “Based upon the memo that came first, I had written the town clerk indicating that deduction on a mere memo cannot be done to make any deductions as it relates to any staff or as it relates to this case, Mr. King, and as such those[sic] information were[sic]submitted for the discussion.”

The information which McAlmont spoke of were documents coming out of the police report and subsequent court order.

Mayor Green requested copies of the correspondence between the acting town clerk and the treasurer as well as the regulations which authorised the issuance of the instructions.

Deputy Mayor, Patricia Chase- Green rose to emphatically declare: “There is no matter with Royston King, Public Relations Officer against this Mayor and City Council. This council did not order anyone to take Mr. Royston King to court for forging any document, because he sat there and we appointed Mr. King to the office of town clerk.”

In 2012, following the administrative leave of former Town Clerk, Yonette Pluck, the Mayor & Councillors had appointed Royston King to act in the capacity of town clerk, a decision which did not stand up to scrutiny against the legislation governing officers’ appointments for the Georgetown municipality.

The mayor, during Chase-Green’s remarks, had urged the deputy mayor to stay within the confines of what the treasurer has presented since according to him, “Interdiction is an entirely different ballgame.”

In light of this, Councillor Ranwell Jordan stood up to move a motion to reinstate the payments of the embattled Public Relations Officer, Royston King. This was met with full support of the other councillors.

With acting Town Clerk, Carol Sooba given 24 hours to present a detailed report on the deduction from King’s salary, a motion to adjourn that day’s statutory meeting was moved also by Councillor Jordan with a condition that no other business of the Council be considered until the motion which he had proposed has been approved and acted on. This too was supported entirely by the Council. -- (By Derwayne Wills)

Source - http://guyanachronicle.com/new...ouncillors-outraged/