Be informed that the identification of a Councillor to temporarily perform duties of Mayor in the absence of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor of a municipality and the procedural matters in relation to such a matter are clearly set out in Section 17(2) and 17(3) of the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01.
This piece of legislation has strictly guided my advice to the town clerk of the Georgetown City Council in the present scenario where the City council is required to appoint a councillor to perform duties of mayor in the absence of Mayor Hamilton Green and Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green.
1) I acknowledge your official notification that as per Section 20 of the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01, the City Council has granted leave of absence; albeit for an undetermined period of time to His Worship the Mayor, Mr. Hamilton Green. At the time of penning this letter, I am in receipt of the mayor’s request that he be granted “leave of absence from August 13, 2013”. I have also noted that the Deputy Mayor, Ms. Patricia Chase-Green, “left the jurisdiction more than three weeks ago without official leave” of the council; a highly irresponsible and indisciplined approach that ought not to be condoned or approved by the council.
2) Under the circumstances described above, it is not for the council nor the mayor to determine” by way of Motion “who should perform the duties of mayor in the absence of the mayor and the deputy mayor.
3) Sections 17(2) of the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01 makes provision for such a situation. “The Town Clerk shall call a meeting of the Councillors to elect a Councillor to perform those functions…until such time as the Mayor or Deputy Mayor, as the case may be, is able to act”.
Section 17(3) of Chapter 28:01 draws attention to Section 12(2) where procedural matters such as notice of time, place and persons to be served with notices of the meeting are concerned.
4) It would be highly irregular, irresponsible and illegal for Councillor Ranwell Jordon to perform duties of mayor based on a Motion of council while the relevant legislation provides otherwise.
5) You are advised to have the chief constable take possession of the keys (public property) to the mayor’s office. The town clerk must be the custodian of those keys until the councillor to perform duties as mayor in the absence of both the elected mayor and deputy mayor has been determined by way described in the legislation referred to above.
