Failure to administer the oath of office to LaPlaine Village Councilor-elect Jason Fontaine after he won a by-election two months ago on October 1, 2018, is raising serious concerns and suspicions nationwide.
Fontaine was somehow removed from the LaPlaine Village Councilor, but went on to convincingly win a by-election to replace him, but he is facing major frustration in taking the oath to become an official member of the council. DLP Parliamentary Representative for the La Plaine Constituency, Education Minister Petter St Jean and Jason Fontaine have been at loggerheads over the delays being placed in his path to taking the oath of office. Fontaine claims St. Jean is playing “politics” with the council. St. Jean recently sated on a local radio station, “As we speak, Jason Fontaine is not a member of the Village Council… there was a bye election which he won, but to date Jason Fontaine has not taken the oath of office. I am no authority on local government law, but my layman’s understanding of the law tells me that within two weeks of a council election, there must be an inauguration and if the inauguration is not done within the two weeks then the council is declared null and void.” While inauguration of a newly elected village council may not have the same standing as one councilor taking the oath of office following a Bye-Election to fill a vacant seat, St Jean nonetheless added, “More than three months after the by-election, he has not been sworn-in… so let it be known to all men and more so the people of La Plaine, that the gentleman has not taken his oath of office and consequently he is not a member of the village council.” However, acting local government commissioner, Glenroy Toussaint, has reportedly met with all the parties involved to address the situation and hopes to have it resolved soon, with Fontaine taking his oath of office. However, he went on to point out that under the law, the council is mandated to have monthly statutory meetings and it is at that meeting that “Fontaine will take his oath from the chairperson of the council.” Toussaint said, “I don’t have the power to direct the council…I can only advise them in accordance with the law”. Meantime, Chairman of the La Plaine Village Council, James Jones, says that the council is faced with numerous challenges despite meeting its daily obligations. He said, “The village council is fully functional, in meeting its daily and monthly obligations and in doing the necessary work; we just have issues having our monthly statuary meeting. We don’t have a place to have meetings since Hurricane Maria destroyed the council’s office, and we have been taking steps to see how we can rectify that situation. We have sought the help of technical people who have prepared estimates for us as we try to get our building repaired. We have been moving from place to place to hold our monthly statutory meetings. It’s like every time we have to hold our meeting, we have to look for a place and that is posing a serious challenge for us.” Jones revealed that another building in the village for which the council has responsibility is not available as it is now being illegally occupied “despite our many reports to the police.” Jones finally said, “I have just found a place where the council can hold its monthly meeting and we have a statutory meeting next week Thursday December 20, 2018, where we expect to administer the oath to Jason Fontaine. I am also in discussions with the local government Commission Glenroy Toussaint to chart the way forward.”
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