The mayor of Whitchurch-Stouffville has been docked six-months’ pay after councillors voted in favour of restrictions against him following a series of bizarre controversies at city hall.
On Tuesday night, councillors voted 5-1 in favour of strict sanctions against Mayor Justin Altmann.
As part of those sanctions, Altmann is barred from his office during work hours and is only allowed to communicate with staff through e-mail. He will also lose six months-worth of pay.
The restrictions stem from two reports by integrity commissioner Suzanne Craig related to two separate complaints against the mayor.
The first relates to comments made by Altmann in a radio interview and the second to a highly controversial photo taken last summer of his office bathroom wall where his so-called “mind map” -- featuring photos of councilllors, former staff and residents -- was posted.
The discovery prompted a six-month long internal ethics investigation into Altmann’s behaviour. It later concluded that the mayor must apologize to the city for his actions or else face a one-month pay loss.
At the time, Altmann’s lawyer called the outcome of the investigation “unfair,” saying the photo wall was his way of ‘connecting the dots’ in an unsolved investigation into anonymous packages being delivered to local residents back in July of 2014.
By September, Altmann was ordered to apologize for his actions, but he refused.
Altmann declined to speak with CTV News Toronto about council’s vote to sanction him.
“Some people might call it harsh, but I believe it was the right thing to do,” Ward 3 Coun. Hugo Kroon said of Tuesday’s vote. “I want to say it’s not normal, so we have to deal with it appropriately.”
Suzanne Craig, the town’s integrity commissioner who recommended the sanctions, said she also took allegations of harassment made by some of Altmann’s staff into account in her ruling.
“This complaint underlined the absolute lack of respect on the part of this particular mayor as it related to his colleagues, as it related to the rules of the town and most importantly, as it related to his staff,” she told CTV News Toronto.
“In this case there was a blatant disregard for the rules. There was contempt of the rules and I have never encountered that before.”
Beyond the photo wall controversy, Altmann raised eyebrows in 2016 when he invited the entire town to his wedding held in the town square. He also caused a stir in November of 2017 when he billed taxpayers for a $1,900 community chain, which he later described as “money well spent.”
Whitchurch-Stouffville residents had mixed reviews about the ongoing saga of their mayor.
“It’s a job where you’re supposed to uphold a certain standards, you know?” said one resident, who did not provide their name. “You’re in the public eye and you need to be accountable for your actions.”
Others said their support for Altmann is unwavering.
“I like him, I like him. I support him 100 per cent,” said resident Frank Soluri. “I think he’s done wonders for the town. I think he’s just a fresh face.”
The town will have a chance to choose a mayor as an election is scheduled for this fall.
With files from CTV News Toronto's Sean Leathong
