THE FATE of Fitzgerald Taylor, Councillor for the Harbour View division, will be among the issues to take centre stage tomorrow at the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation's (KSAC) last Council meeting of the year.
In an interview with The Gleaner last week, town clerk Errol Greene said the Council would discuss responses from the Attorney-General's Department and the KSAC's legal counsel, to whom the Corporation had written seeking clarification on a number of issues arising from the controversy surrounding the Harbour View seat.
The controversial issues are:
Whether Mr. Taylor is abroad. If he is, it would mean that he had left the island without the knowledge of the Council, thereby committing a violation;
Whether he could be counted absent if he had signed, but had not stayed for the duration of the July 11 Council meeting;
What would be done with the seat if he had not violated the standing orders, but would continue to be absent.
The issue came out of a resolution introduced at last month's meeting by Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Councillor, Desmond McKenzie (Tivoli Division). The resolution requested that Councillor Taylor's seat be declared vacant because he had violated section 31(b) of the KSAC's standing orders by missing more than three consecutive Council meetings without apology.
Mr. McKenzie used the minutes from the July, August and September meetings, which showed Mr. Taylor's absence, as evidence that he had violated section 31 (b). With other JLP Councillors he proposed that Councillor Taylor should lose his seat.
This provoked strong reaction among People's National Party (PNP) councillors who said that Councillor Taylor, who is said to be studying abroad, had been present at the July 11 Council meeting and pointed to his signature in the registration book as evidence.
Mr. Greene told The Gleaner in November that the KSAC would seek legal counsel on the matter, but explained on Friday that he could not comment on the responses because he had not yet discussed them with Mayor Marie Atkins.
In November the KSAC also ordered Councillor Taylor's salary frozen until the controversy was sorted out. Councillors are paid just over $30,000 a month, plus travelling allowance.
Meanwhile, roughly $250,000 is to be spent within each Councillor's division to clean drains, clear lots and road maintenance. The money is to be spent within the confines of the Parochial Road Fund, which is made up of a percentage of motor vehicle taxes.
