Kamloops councillors to review mayor's suspension of key city staffer
CBC
Kamloops city councillors are expected to meet on Thursday to decide whether or not to support Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson's move earlier this week to suspend Byron McCorkell, the city's acting chief administrative officer (CAO).
The mayor said he's tired of the status quo of crime in Kamloops, and wanted to "change things up" at city hall.
"I just think that we need to go [in] a different direction and make some changes. I mean that's why I was elected, on change," he told CBC News.
Hamer-Jackson made public safety a top priority during his mayoral campaign.
In an interview Wednesday, he said that after nearly a year-and-a-half in power he wants to see that change.
"I continue to see things worse, continue to get emails and calls, and people constantly come up to me saying, you know, 'Well, nothing's changed.'"
CAOs provide the overall management of a city and ensure that policies and directions from city council are implemented. They also report back to council on how things are going.
Asked whether he felt that ongoing crime issues are a result of the CAO's decisions, Hamer-Jackson said "No, I'm not saying that."
"I just think that we need a change and there's certain things that have been happening, you know, over the last little while," he told CBC News, without elaborating on what those "certain things" are.
The mayor said he called McCorkell into his office on Tuesday for a meeting. He also said that he asked Coun. Margot Middleton to be there as a witness.
"I just told him that I was suspending him as of right now. He told me I couldn't do that."
"I will be preparing a letter for him … and he told me I'd have to call a special meeting [to suspend him]."
McCorkell has worked for the city for nearly 25 years. He was appointed acting CAO on March 7 when it was announced that CAO David Trawin would be away on personal leave for an undetermined amount of time.
CBC News reached out to McCorkell for comment but he wasn't immediately available.