The Municipality of Clarington yesterday clarified to Durham Post that a councillor’s notification to include her motion at a special council meeting was received just minutes before deadline without any secondment.
Councillor Corinna Traill had asked to present her motion to reduce the proposed 2026 tax from 3 per cent to 2 per cent at a Special Council Meeting scheduled for November 24.
However, for the meeting to be held, her motion had to be seconded by another councillor before the deadline.
Both the municipal clerk and one of the councillors confirmed that the notification for the meeting and the request for secondment was received about 5 minutes before deadline.
“I spoke with the clerk and she confirmed 11:55 am on Wednesday, November 19,” said a municipal spokesperson.
A councillor said they received the request for secondment at around the same time.
The deadline for a seconded request was 12 noon, both Councillor Traill and the municipality said. As no secondment was forthcoming in the next 5 minutes, the motion request could not go through.
The Special Council Meeting for November 24 was cancelled as there were no items on the agenda for council to consider, the municipality said.
“The meeting was cancelled because no budget amendments were put forward in accordance with the budget process, which requires steps such as securing a seconder. Amendments needed to be submitted, with a seconder, by noon on Wednesday, November 19. As a result, there were no items on the agenda for council to consider,” the spokesperson explained.