CARBONEAR, N.L.
Frank Butt will be reimbursed $7,500 from the Town of Carbonear for the remuneration he lost when he was ousted from council for eight months.
The matter came to a vote at the council table on Tuesday night, Oct. 9.
Coun. Ray Noel made the motion, seconded by Coun. Victor Jenkins, that the town pay the full amount of the remuneration to Butt – compensation for time and money from December, 2017, to July, 2018 - the period he had to sit out.
Earlier this year, the Supreme court ruled the town council had erred when it deemed Butt had been in a conflict of interest on a vote about the destruction of a dilapidated building on Water Street, and ousted him from the mayor’s chair and council.
Butt fought the decision in court and following the judge’s ruling in his favour, he returned to the mayor’s seat in July.
When the matter of remuneration came to council for discussion and vote this week, Butt left the council chambers as required.
Councillors agreed — voting unanimously on the motion, to pay the mayor a total of $7,507.50 in remuneration.
The town is also on the hook, under court order, to pay Butt’s legal costs. While that figure has not been finalized, the amount claimed by the mayor in total is approximately $15,000, which includes legal fees in the amount of $7,000 and the remaining $8,000 covering out-of-pocket expenses including the services of expert witnesses and other court expenses. In an interview with CBC earlier this year, Deputy Mayor Chris O’Grady indicated the town’s legal representation for the case came to approximately $57,000.
Editor’s Note: A version of this story published in the Oct. 17 edition of The Compass contained inaccurate information about how much the town must pay to cover the mayor’s legal costs.
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