ATHABASCA – Following a third-party investigation into an unspecified complaint, an Athabasca County councillor will step down as a director for the Alberta Community Crime Prevention Association (ACCPA) and receive a formal letter of reprimand that clearly states “his need to not engage in any bylaw enforcement interference.”
During their Aug. 31 council meeting, councillors voted 8-1 in favour of a four-part motion that states Division 6 Coun. Gary Cromwell breached the municipality’s code of conduct bylaw and that his appointment to the ACCPA be revoked and a letter of reprimand issued. It further states that Cromwell should undergo a “coaching session or course work on developing self-awareness, building trust and receive assistance in having difficult conversations” and that council seek further legal advice on amendments to the municipality’s code of conduct to provide “more guidance to council members and to the public with respect to those standards for council and councillor conduct” — the full motion can be found in the Aug. 31 council minutes found on the county’s website, while the Advocate was unable to learn who was the dissenting voice against the motion.
Reeve Brian Hall says the report will not be made public and that council’s goal is to make clearer motions with the wording as descriptive as possible so the public can be informed.
“In this case, the motion should stand on its own and provide the clarity that is required for people to gain an understanding of the decision we were faced with and made,” said Hall in a Sept. 2 interview.
At a July 7 special sitting, councillors voted 7-1 to appoint Kenneth Warren as the third-party investigator into the incident while at the June 29 meeting, they voted 8-1 (Coun. Joe Gerlach was opposed) to seek quotes for the process — specifics on the complaint remain unknown.
When reached via e-mail Sept. 1, Cromwell said that he was unable to speak about the matter and that “ … council as a whole has made the determination and we stand by that decision.”
The ACCPA began life in 1989 as the Alberta Community Police Advisory Committee to give a means to discuss “mutual crime related issues within communities/police/government” with a goal of ensuring “safety to Albertans and their communities through education and crime prevention awareness.” Cromwell was one of 10 directors to sit on the board for association, not including the president, vice-president and treasurer, plus an administrator.
An increase in severity
This isn’t Cromwell’s first disciplinary incident as he previously issued an apology at the June 29 council meeting after an erroneous $43.52 expense claim was brought to light.
Before that, he had been named in a May 23 motion regarding an interim CAO report, although no formal sanctions were issued then.
He has also been previously 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. As a result of that report, councillors passed a July 21, 2022, motion that Cromwell be banned from being involved in “any and all” operations associated with any Athabasca County Fire Departments.
