Teulon divided as council proposes stripping mayor of powers

The majority of Teulon's town council wants to see their mayor's role reduced to not much more than a title.

On Tuesday evening, three of the town's four councillors introduced motions to strip Mayor Debbie Kozyra of powers like signing authority, chairing meetings, membership on committees and acting as the town's spokesperson.

Deputy mayor Mike Ledarney told CBC Radio Noon host Marjorie Dowhos on Wednesday that council "had no choice" but to make the drastic move.

"We have tried to deal with this internally over the last eight months and unfortunately, it became clear to us over the last month that this kind of action needed to be taken," said Ledarney, without providing exact details about Kozyra's behaviour.

"It's just emotionally draining for the rest of council," said Ledarney, who has held his seat for 16 years. 

"We dread coming to meetings now, when it never used to be like that." 

On top of proposing changes to the town's bylaws that strip the mayor of her duties — and pass many to the deputy mayor — Teulon's council also put forward two resolutions.

One resolution censures Kozyra for "disregarding council decisions" and allegedly demonstrating "confrontational, disrespectful, defamatory and intimidating conduct towards her colleagues, members of the public and employees."

The other resolution calls for all communication with town staff to happen through the deputy mayor instead of the mayor. 

'Due the respect of the councillors': mayor

The roughly 1,200 residents of Teulon, about 60 kilometres north of Winnipeg, elected Kozyra as mayor in October. She unseated Bert Campbell, who had held the position since 2002.

In a statement to CBC News, Kozyra said the actions of Ledarney and the other councillors "are detrimental to the well-being of this Town of Teulon and the citizens."

Kozyra went on to claim that council's proposal violates the Municipal Act, and requested Ledarney's resignation. 

"I am the mayor of Teulon, and I will continue with my duties as mayor. I am due the respect of the councillors and office staff," she wrote. 

In the eyes of the province, however, the council is within its legal rights to take the mayor's powers away. 

"Currently, with the information that we have, the department has not determined any violations under The Municipal Act," a spokesperson for the province's Municipal Relations department said in a statement emailed to CBC News Thursday.

"The Department of Municipal Relations continues to monitor the situation and provide advice to the municipality with respect to their responsibilities/requirements under The Municipal Act."

The proposed changes to the town's bylaws that would strip Kozyra of her powers still have to pass second and third reading, and the council's next meeting isn't until August.

Ledarney said council has tried to use private sessions to hammer out issues with the mayor, but very little was resolved. 

The issue has caused division in the town, he said, with some people at the meeting Tuesday showing support for Kozyra. 

"There are some harsh comments on both sides of this," Ledarney said. 

"We know that there's many issues that we have not been able to address in town over the last eight months, and the sooner we can get to deal with those issues, the best it is for the community." 

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