As we told you last night, the Belize City Administrator Candice Miller has been suspended for a month, on full pay. This comes one month after the PUP council took office - and of course they would have a problem with Miller. She signed a multi-year contract extension just months before the old UDP council was voted out. That became the subject of much controversy and criticism during the campaign - and so it's not surprising that the PUP Council would have some difficulty working with her.
But - even so - an abrupt suspension was not expected. Today was asked the Mayor for his justification:...
Bernard Wagner- Belize City Mayor
"After going through an audit for the first two to three weeks we have uncovered certain areas where we feel that the city administrator did not execute her responsibility or fiduciary duty to the council, to the council's assets, to the city residents' assets. We felt that in that position the people entrust you to carry out certain fiduciary duties to protect their assets. In this instance, Jules, after two to three weeks uncovering some of the clear rejection of duties I felt, as the mayor, that too ensure that the process is done without any restriction in the area, I felt that it would be good to suspend her and put her on administrative leave while that investigation continues. But of course, she will be given all opportunity to dispute it via a council meeting."
Jules Vasquez- Reporter
"Should that meeting have preempted that suspension though? Should she first have been given the opportunity to defend herself before a decision was made to suspend?"
Bernard Wagner
"No, the Belize City council rules and regulations states- in rule #32- that the mayor can essentially dismiss the administrator to some extent and after he can bring it forward to the council for their approval."
Jules Vasquez
"Okay. Now, I understand that these profound misgivings that you have about the city administrator's performance have to do with the payments made supposedly to Joe Bradley for the defrayment of expenses at the Chinese restaurant across the street. Explain to me what is specifically the issue with that? Those sympathetic to him say that these are legitimate payments for council socials and there is a requisition for each amount, that it is completely above board, he wasn't running a tab, so they say. How do you respond to that?"
Barnard Wagner
"I have seen a lot of legitimate transactions that come to my desk. When you go to a store, every item is itemized, when you go to a restaurant and you are running a tab they itemize each item. Unfortunately, in this case, there is just food and drinks, food and drinks, food and drinks. Jules, is that transparency? Is that accountability? Not in my view. The council was running a free for all type of operation here."
Miller says she did not campaign for the UDP in this election - but concedes she did campaign for the mayor previously. She stresses, though, that her contract did not say that she could not campaign.
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