Elected officials at the Corporation of Hamilton have yet to sign up to a new code of conduct and guidelines for meetings issued by Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy — and one senior member insists he and others will not be doing so.

Alderman Carlton Simmons told The Royal Gazette yesterday that the unelected Minister had no business telling members of the 200-year-old municipality how to run the city and that he and “several others” had no plans to comply with the “pointless” documents, which he claimed were unenforceable in their current form.

“I don’t agree with all the stuff that the Minister is sending down,” he said. “The Minister, if he had any respect, would talk to the council and explain to them what is the rationale for certain changes.

“He believes he can send instructions to our management and instruct us through them. We don’t take orders from the management. If I was the Mayor, I would have ordered the staff to stop taking directives from the Ministry.

“If the Minister wants to impose some new guidelines, he should consult with the elected members. He hasn’t done that, not by any stretch.

“The Corporation has existed for 200 years. They have never needed a Minister to run their affairs and we certainly don’t need one now.”

His comments regarding the code appear to contradict remarks made by Mayor Graeme Outerbridge at a June 4 meeting of the council. Mr Outerbridge, in a recording obtained by this newspaper, is heard telling members: “We should be aware that come a new day very soon the code will be very enforceable.”

Legislation passed in Parliament last autumn gave Government stronger powers over both of the Island’s municipalities, including the ability to impose a code of conduct and meeting guide which “members, officers and employees of the Corporation shall conduct themselves and act in accordance with”.

The code itself states: “Breaches of the code will result in sanctions on the member ... and in some instances may lead to personal civil liability.

“It is therefore extremely important that members become familiar with, and comply with, the provisions of the code to ensure adequate and proper compliance.

“Once legislation is passed, in order to enforce the code, the Corporation will establish a standards committee to oversee the code of conduct and deal with any alleged breaches.

“Until that standards committee is established, the members will deal with any breaches.”

Mr Simmons said: “Some of the burdens they have placed on us — our lawyers don’t agree and we don’t agree with them.

“But until they are fleshed out in a court of law, they won’t be resolved.”

He said the Corporation operated under resolutions passed by the full council, so members would have to agree to abide by the code and meeting guidelines in order for them to come into force.

“Just sending stuff over to our management and thinking they have the ability to impose on our council his [the Minister’s] wishes through them is ludicrous.”

The 18-page code of conduct was issued by e-mail to the nine elected council members on June 10 but it is understood that not one has yet signed and returned the acknowledgment and receipt form.

The document makes clear that the day-to-day running of City Hall is the responsibility of the chief operating officer and that members must not give instructions to staff or place “undue influence” on them.

Other subjects it tackles include conflicts of interests, political bribery and connections and accounting procedures.

The new municipal council meeting guidelines have been posted on City Hall’s website and are due to come into effect on September 1.

They state that council and committee meetings must be held in public and that “the council and the committees shall use discretion when using closed sessions because too many closed sessions may lead to false impressions and suspicions. Open discussions, even the uncomfortable ones, stimulate the free exchange of information with citizens and build trust between decision makers and the public.”

Mr Simmons said members did not have the legal immunity enjoyed by members of Parliament so could not speak as freely in public.

“I’m not going to agree to these open meetings,” he said. “We are not going to subject ourselves to penalties that can have far-reaching effects. The Minister don’t give a damn enough about my position.”

Senator Fahy is off island and we were unable to reach him by telephone or e-mail yesterday.

Acting Home Affairs Minister Wayne Scott said he had a cursory knowledge of the new rules, as a member of Cabinet, but could not speak in depth on them.

We left a telephone message for the Mayor but did not hear back from him by press time.

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