Linden Town Clerk Patrick Inniss has been fired for gross insubordination and unauthorised spending, Junior Local Government Minister Norman Whittaker announced yesterday.
“He was fired because of insubordination… to both the council and the ministry and expenditure without the required approval. It happened on several occasions, not once several occasions … and then—ha!— I leave it at that,” Whittaker told Stabroek News yesterday, after breaking the news to members of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) and staff of the municipality.
Chairman Orin Gordon confirmed that the IMC did recommend to Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud a month ago that Inniss be given marching orders, on the grounds that he had hired a personnel officer without following the necessary procedures. When asked repeatedly by the IMC and the ministry to correct the situation, Inniss refused and indicated that he was prepared to face the consequences for his actions.
The councillors, the ministry, and workers’ union should have been involved in the interview process before a selection was made but this was not done. Gordon said that Inniss was advised that it was necessary that he follow the correct procedure and to take corrective action but he failed to comply. The minister subsequently wrote to him, instructing that he correct his actions, but the direction was ignored.
According to Gordon, Inniss was later called to a meeting with the minister and members of the IMC to address the situation. He said Inniss was given an opportunity to correct his actions but he indicated that he was caught between a rock and a hard place and did not know what to do. “Right there, he told the minister that he didn’t know what to do and was prepared to face whatever consequence,” Gordon said.
Inniss was given another chance to make good at a subsequent meeting. “He didn’t show any remorse and again said that he was prepared to face whatever consequences. So, we had no other choice do what we had to do,” said Gordon, who noted that by this time, the personnel officer had resigned and accused him of having a personnel vendetta against her. “The truth of the matter is that I have never spoken to the young lady. I don’t know the young lady, and I had more reason to support the young lady than to have her not there,” he explained.
Gordon accused Inniss of hiring persons without the council’s concurrence on numerous occasions. He said that in excess of 10 persons were hired to fill positions although the council felt that given the paucity of resources, existing staff members should have been moved around to meet required needs.
Asked about the allegations of misappropriation of funds, Gordon declined to make specific references but said he has ordered an investigation. He added that based on several financial reports submitted to the IMC, it was clear that there were questions to be answered. “I am not excited about this but I have asked that the ministry send in the required person to carry out their investigation and address the issue,” he said, adding that he would not pronounce further on the situation.
Gordon did, however, deny charges by some councillors that he has been “bamboozling” the Town Clerk and the Treasurer. “…I am not bamboozling anyone. These are things that I have been raising, so I want them to come in and see for themselves. They [councillors] are not paying attention to what’s going on but I have to, because, at the end of the day, I will get the blame,” he explained.
Works Supervisor Edward Sedrino has been identified to be acting Town Clerk while the post will be advertised. Sedrino has acted in the position previously and although Gordon felt he had failed miserably, he said “that was then and everybody deserves to be given a second chance.”
Meanwhile, yesterday’s meeting also sought to address issues that were affecting the delivery of services within the municipality, especially garbage collection, transportation and repairs to the markets.
The average monthly income for 2011 was approximately $5 million and Whittaker noted that most of it comes from the tolls and the markets, while the revenue collection from rates and taxes is below 50%.
“The reason why people are complaining, the reason why garbage is piling up in spite of the fact that you are receiving this kind of revenue, is because, as a council, there is too much of internal quarrels, [and] divisions… so the council is not focusing on essential issues. They are not engaging the people. The people don’t know what they are doing, so a significant number are not paying,” he said, adding that it was discovered that the deficiency in staffing is also part of the problem.
According to Whittaker, at the end of the meeting councillors were reminded that they need to do more than attend meetings. “…So, when you come to council, you should be coming with suggestions and ideas from the people.
The other thing is the awareness. People are not aware of what council is doing. People think that they are doing little or nothing and that’s why people are not paying their rates and taxes,” he said.
