ATHABASCA – Athabasca County Div. 6 Coun. Gary Cromwell is in hot water again after councillors received and investigated a code of conduct complaint from the June 13 county meeting.
Following a closed-door session at their June 29 meeting, councillors voted 8-1 in favour to “accept the code of conduct complaint and response and Councillor Cromwell’s apology in relation to the matter,” according to the meeting’s minutes.
Councillors also made a second motion to bring the code of conduct policy to their first council meeting in September to clarify clauses around what qualifies as personal use of property.
In a July 20 interview, reeve Brian Hall would only confirm that council discussed the code of conduct complaint at length and accept Cromwell’s apology.
“Subsequently we approved a motion to refer discussion to clarify language around personal use of county property to a future meeting,” he said.
While Hall was unable to confirm what the complaint had been — the same code of conduct prohibits councillors from disclosing closed session topics — the June 13 meeting included a request for decision that highlighted an erroneous expense claim from Cromwell for $43.52.
According to e-mails included in the agenda package for that meeting, on Cromwell’s May 2023 expense report he had claimed travel to and from the May 23 council meeting.
In a May 27 e-mail, Hall said that when he entered the building after the May 23 meeting, Cromwell’s personal vehicle was in the parking lot and the county SUV was absent.
“Specifically, my concerns are that the claim is not truthful in its recording of the dates of travel incurred to attend the meeting and the perceived personal use of the county vehicle,” reads the e-mail in part.
In the same e-mail, Hall also stated that the vehicle log showed the county SUV being used for a meeting in Edmonton May 24.
“It’s unclear what county business would warrant the route to Edmonton utilized by you versus collecting the vehicle from the county office and travelling directly to Edmonton.”
Cromwell’s response was included in the package, where he said that the situation arose from unfortunate timing. He said that at the time he submitted the expense report, he hadn’t planned on attending the May 24 meeting but a last-minute schedule change allowed him to.
He added as part of his response that the reason the county SUV was brought home that night was a mechanical issue and he was “trying to save a trip.”
Cromwell was contacted by the Athabasca Advocate July 20 for comment, but didn’t respond before publication deadlines.
Prior issues
This wasn’t Cromwell’s first disciplinary incident as he had previously been named in a closed session motion during the May 23 meeting, although no formal sanctions took place as a result.
He had also been compelled to issue a formal verbal apology, as well as complete training on workplace violence, discrimination, and harassment, after a July 2022 report on his actions as Wandering River’s fire chief was made public in August 2022.
