Essex Town Council is extending its agreement with its integrity commissioner.
Councillors voted this week to lengthen its agreement with lawyer Robert Swayze to act as its part-time integrity commissioner until April 2018.
Swayze has already been at the centre of an often contentious town council, having been brought in in 2015 following a series of arguments breaking out between councillors and Mayor Ron McDermott.
Ward 1 Councillor Randy Voakes, who was the only "no" vote to extending Swayze's agreement, tells Blackburn News that the only reason Swayze remains on board is because of him.
"Because of my firm positions on council, in terms of what's in the best interest of my constituents and the municipality as a whole, council brought in an integrity commissioner to rule against me, again," says Voakes.
Voakes is referring to at least two incidents in which the integrity commissioner has sanctioned him. He lost a month's pay in August 2016 after he allegedly was out of line with town staff. In September of this year, Voakes was docked two months' pay after McDermott and the other councillors made complaints about Voakes' behaviour. He also was removed from the town's committee of adjustment.
The councillor believes that his health issues are influencing Swayze's rulings against him.
"He was very discriminatory to me in terms of my diabetes, which was certainly unfair," says Voakes. "I hope council realizes that, and the reality is at the end of the day, council opted to look at other opportunities moving forward if need be."
Council has left open the possibility of finding a new integrity commissioner beyond next April. Voakes says if Essex needs an integrity commissioner, he could name other people who would be more qualified.
"I don't know what the actual reason is, but I told [Essex CAO] Donna [Hunter] that there's a host of integrity commissioners out there who would serve the town better, and now council is looking at it," says Voakes.