The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has moved to the High Court, asking for the Local Government Commission (LGC) decision not to approve several vacancies to be set aside.
The court proceedings were filed by Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde and Attorney-at-law Olayne Joseph on behalf of the acting Town Clerk and Councillors.
Jerrick and the Councillors are asking the High Court for an order setting aside the decision made by the LGC.
Last month, Jerrick announced that the LGC had deliberated but did not approve several persons’ appointments for several key positions within the Council.
Those vacant positions are those of Town Clerk, Assistant Town Clerk, Deputy City Engineer, Supervisor Billing Inspector, Legal Officer, and City Treasurer.
It is against this backdrop that City Hall is also asking for an order compelling the LGC to consider and approve the recommendations set out in the Special Human Resource Management Committee Report, which City Hall approved and addressed to the Chairman of the Commission.
Also, the Council is asking for any further order that the Court deems just along with costs.
In supporting the grounds for their appeal, the City Hall is contending that the decision by the LGC not to approve the employment of Sherwin Benjamin as Town Clerk, Samuel Parris as Assistant Town Clerk, John Douglas as City Treasurer, Danielle Anthony as Legal Officer, Kabila Hollingsworth as Deputy City Engineer and Lyndon Scott as – Supervisor Building Inspector; is unreasonable having regard to the evidence.
Further, the Council argues that the decision not to approve those persons’ employment is “ultra vires, the power and authority of the Local Government Commission and an abuse and improper use of the powers vested in the Local Government Commission.”
Besides, the acting Town Clerk and Councillors contend that the decision is bad in law as no reasons were given for the decision of the LGC to disapprove the employment of those persons.
“The decision by the Local Government Commission…was arbitrary, made in bad faith and unreasonable,” the court document outlined.
During last month’s statutory, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Councillor, Heston Bostwick, contended that the issue of not hiring the key staffers would put the Council’s operational capacity at a further disadvantage.
Bostwick complained that such a decision should not be left up to the LGC, which has been dissolved.
This publication understands that the LGC’s tenure ended as of October 22, 2020.
The Councillor stood to move a motion to overturn the LGC ‘s “interference” but was met with strong opposing views from representatives on both sides of the political divide; the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Councillors.
Former Mayor Patricia Chase-Greene and PPP/C Councillors Dimitri Ali and Dwayne Adams were among those who objected.
The Councillors objected to how the motion to address the matter was dealt with, noting that the motion cannot be tabled unless specific protocols are followed.
While Chase-Greene objected to protocol and pointed to the illegality if the motion is carried without following the Council’s guidelines on such matters, Ali warned that the mayor and councillors’ decision to move such an action would be acting ultra vires.
Other Councillors shared the view that the Council cannot act in the capacity of hiring staff without the approval of the LGC, which has the legal responsibility to vet and approve staff to be employed by the town councils and other local government agencies.
