The City of Langford has agreed to take several actions in response to a report issued by the BC Ombudsperson into Coun. Lillian SzpakB次元官网网址檚 actions related to a parking dispute between her son and another Langford resident.

In the report dated July 24, a copy of which was provided to Black Press Media by Ed Court, the ombudsperson noted they did not find any definitive examples of administrative unfairness, as alleged by Court B次元官网网址� the resident involved in the dispute with SzpakB次元官网网址檚 son B次元官网网址� but did note several concerns with both SzpakB次元官网网址檚 actions and the cityB次元官网网址檚.

The investigation was concluded with the city agreeing to undertake three actions. One is that staff produce a recommendation that council amend the Council Code of Conduct to enable staff and non-council committee members to file complaints under the policy. A second is that council consider those amendments B次元官网网址渋n good faith.B次元官网网址� A third is that staff provide additional training to council on the code and other aspects of good governance and conflict of interest.

In an email to Black Press Media, Szpak confirmed she was aware the complaint filed with the ombudsperson had been B次元官网网址渞esolved.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 look forward to considering an updated Code of Conduct at the council table and receiving any and all training opportunities made available to council,B次元官网网址� wrote Szpak.

CourtB次元官网网址檚 complaint to the ombudsperson stemmed from a parking dispute between him and SzpakB次元官网网址檚 son which started in 2020 when the son started parking on a paving-stone boulevard outside CourtB次元官网网址檚 house while the sonB次元官网网址檚 driveway was under construction.

According to the report, the dispute escalated when Court placed large stones on the boulevard after multiple reports to the City of Langford that year about the parking B次元官网网址� which Court felt was in violation of the cityB次元官网网址檚 traffic bylaw B次元官网网址� resulted in the city saying such parking was not a violation.

The report said Court provided correspondence dated May 1, 2021 between Szpak and senior city staff with the subject line B次元官网网址渓ooking for a solution,B次元官网网址� which was followed by the city issuing a work order to Victoria Contracting just three days later directing them to remove the stones.

Court told the ombudsperson around the same time, he was questioned by the West Shore RCMP regarding a flat tire on the sonB次元官网网址檚 truck, and alleged in a letter to mayor and council that Szpak B次元官网网址渦sed her influence as the Protective Services Chair for Langford to have this file opened.B次元官网网址�

On Sept. 24, 2021, having obtained SzpakB次元官网网址檚 May 1 email through a Freedom of Information Act request, Court requested an opportunity to address the email with council at an open meeting. This request was denied by the city, and it was stated B次元官网网址渁 city council meeting is not the appropriate forum for (Court) to address your private matter with Mrs. Szpak.B次元官网网址�

The ombudsperson noted several concerns with SzpakB次元官网网址檚 involvement in the issue, and with the cityB次元官网网址檚 response to her involvement, but did not definitively find fault with either.

The report noted Szpak failed to take precautions when communicating with city officials about the parking dispute to ensure she was interacting as a private citizen and to avoid potential perception of bias. While she did communicate with city staff using a personal email address, she did not use public-facing communication options, instead directly messaging the relevant city staff as well as mayor and council.

The report also noted she directly requested city staff take action on the matter, despite staff initially deciding B次元官网网址渋t would not be possible to do this work at this time,B次元官网网址� and despite it being unclear to the ombudsperson whether councillors were authorized to directly instruct or suggest to staff.

B次元官网网址淚rrespective of whether Coun. Szpak had legal authorization to directly instruct staff, it bears emphasizing that the role of council should be limited to establishing overall priorities for bylaw enforcement,B次元官网网址� read the report. B次元官网网址淐ouncillors should not become directly involved in enforcement action.B次元官网网址�

The report noted concerns with the cityB次元官网网址檚 response to SzpakB次元官网网址檚 involvement as well, finding city staff ultimately ordered the work she requested without considering whether it was appropriate to do so, and despite their initial suggestion the work could not be carried out at the time.

B次元官网网址淚 was concerned how it appeared that the city administration entertained Coun. SzpakB次元官网网址檚 requests without consideration of possible ethical or administrative concerns.B次元官网网址�

While acknowledging SzpakB次元官网网址檚 actions could reasonably be perceived as being in her sonB次元官网网址檚 interests, the ombudsperson concluded the investigation without any findings of administrative unfairness and did not meet the criteria to be actions for an improper purpose.

In a statement to Black Press Media, Court said B次元官网网址渢his has been a very long and frustrating process and while I recognize the issue of confidentiality with the Office of the Ombudsman, Langford residents deserve to know how Councillor Szpak used her position to influence staff regarding what was effectively a family matter.B次元官网网址�

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