Appointment of interim Town Clerk legal, says LGC Chairman

Chairman of the Local Government Commission (LGC) Julius Faerber says the appointment of interim Town Clerk Candace Nelson at the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, by the Commission is lawful.

However, Mayor of Georgetown Ubraj Narine is disputing this, saying he will not recognise or accept Nelson as the acting Town Clerk.

During a meeting of Commissioners of the LGC, a unanimous decision was made to demote former Town Clerk acting, Sherry Jerrick.

Chairman Faeber said they were not satisfied with her performance over the past two years of her acting in the position.

The chairman then appointed Nelson as acting Town Clerk. According to the Chairman, the appointment was made based on Nelson’s seniority and experience.

“Then we took into account her period when she acted and it was a formal decision of the Council to have Ms Nelson act as Town Clerk, so we felt that she had more experience being in that position and so we offered her to act as Town Clerk,” the Chairman explained.

This decision however, has not been taken lightly by Mayor Narine, who has publicly stated that he will not recognise Nelson as the acting Town Clerk.

The Mayor and Councillors also protested the decision on Tuesday.

While the decision to demote Jerrick was made during the meeting with the Commissioners, it was after that meeting that a separate meeting with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, Norman Whittaker was held to appoint Nelson.

Mayor Narine is saying that the appointment of Nelson by the Local Government Commission is illegal, pointing to the Municipal and District Council Act Cap 28:01, but the Commission’s chairman is saying that the Local Government Commission Act of 2013 gives him the authority to do so.

“I do have that authority as the Chairman of the Commission. I would normally make decisions between meetings and at the statutory meeting I would ratify that decision,” the Chairman explained.

The next statutory meeting is scheduled for the end of the month and this is when the decision to appoint Nelson as acting Town Clerk will be taken for ratification.