The mayor’s office in Sarnia City Hall will stay where it is.
In a 7-1 recorded vote, city council accepted staffs recommendation to designate political, public and staff-only areas at city hall.
Council had decided at its October 24 meeting to temporarily move the mayor’s office to the transit building, while a more appropriate location was prepared at city hall, but staff determined that decision was unworkable.
The newly deemed "political wing" includes the mayor’s office and councillor meeting room in their current locations.
Councillor Dave Boushy voted against the motion.
"We've gone full circle on the issue of the mayor's office for the last five months," said Boushy. "The first motion was the relocation of the office outside of city hall. The second motion was to be inside city hall. The third motion was to be at the transit building. Now we have a fourth motion, in front of us today, to leave it where it is. That's fair and I welcome it. I support it."
Boushy said he couldn't support spending $74,000 to implement the measures.
"Let's save the money and move on. You don't have to do anything about the mayors office," he said. "The rest of it can wait."
$60,000 of the allocated funds will be used to upgrade doors, making staff work space accessible only with a key card.
That measure will restrict the public, including all council members, to lobby areas on the first, second and third floors and in the basement, and to washrooms, meeting rooms, the council chambers and the political wing.
Councillor Cindy Scholten says it's been a long time coming.
"For me this isn't just about the workplace harassment and that safety there, but also in dealing with the public in general," said Scholten. "Since I've been a councillor, I've heard of situations where some unruly members of the public show up at odd hours, who are very upset for whatever reason, and come at staff and they have to deal with that. Not to mention the fact that there are sensitive documents inside of city hall that we are legally responsible to keep protected."
Council has imposed various sanctions against the mayor after a third-party workplace investigation report, released October 7, found he bullied and harassed four senior staff members, including city manager Margaret Misek-Evans.
Bradley was also docked three months pay over the summer after the integrity commissioner found he had breached council’s code of conduct.
