Lincoln defers vote to replace Hodgson on NPCA
The Lincoln seat on the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority board of directors will remain vacant, at least in the short term.
On Monday night, the Town of Lincoln voted to defer choosing a replacement for former NPCA board member and Lincoln Regional Coun. Bill Hodgson who resigned from the board in May.
Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton, who has declined to fill Hodgson seat, said at least two town councillors have expressed interest in joining the NPCA, but one of them was not at Monday’s council meeting.
“So we voted to defer it so everyone who was interested can be present,” Easton said.
Hodgson resigned from the NPCA board in May, claiming he was being bullied by other board members.
Hodgson had been pushing the board to take steps to reassure the public of the agency’s integrity in the wake of a report circulated last fall critical of the way NPCA operates and accusing the agency of being rife with conflicts of interest issues.
A majority of Niagara’s municipal councils, Hamilton council and all four Niagara MPPs called for an audit of the agency.
The board initially declined an offer by the provincial auditor general to do an audit for free, but has since changed its mind since it cancelled its bidding process to hire an auditor. However, no date has been set for an audit by the auditor general.
“We have a bit of a crisis of confidence in the community and public trust,” Hodgson said at a meeting in March. “If we are going to rebuild public trust, we are going to have to start to answer questions openly and accept an independent assessment of what some of the issues are.”
In late April, NPCA board chair Sandy Annunziata moved that Hodgson be publicly censured by the board, claiming he received information about Hodgson that impacted the hiring of an auditor.
Annunziata said he conducted an investigation and believed there was an “alleged impropriety” involving the bidding process for a firm to conduct an audit before the agency cancelled the process.
Annunziata engaged a legal firm, Gowling WLG LLP, to review his findings before putting Hodgson’s censure to a vote.
After the vote, Annunziata sent an email to several local councils informing them that Hodgson had been censured. Although his email references the Gowling report, the report itself was not included in the message. To date, the report has not been made public, and Annunziata has refused to disclose the details of the allegations he made against Hodgson.
Easton said Niagara regional council selects Niagara’s representatives on the NPCA board. Regional council rules give councillors from communities in the NPCA jurisdiction first crack at sitting on the board. Since Hodgson resigned, the Region offered the seat to Easton.
She declined and said in an interview Tuesday she is too busy to take on more work.
“I think the NPCA board needs someone who can devote more attention to the issues they have put on their agenda,” she said, noting Lincoln has several upcoming waterfront development issues that will involve the NPCA.
Since Easton refused the seat, regional rules say the town council has to recommend a board member. Town councillors have the first right of refusal. If no town councillors want the job, the town has to selected a citizen. That person, citizen or councillor, will then need the approval of regional council to sit on the NPCA board.
Asked whether the circumstances surrounding Hodgson’s departure from the board is a concern — including the board’s refusal to disclose what Hodgson is alleged to have done — Easton said the town council has decided to stay out of it.
“If it happens again in the future, we will deal with it at that time,” she said.