Newly Appointed CA Faces Pushback from Six Councilors

Only one day after his appointment became official, incoming City Administrator Albert Vaughn is under fire from within the newly elected Belize City Council.  Of note is that several of those councilors, including Deputy Mayor Allan Pollard Junior, were his colleagues during the previous term of office. Six of ten councilors have written to Mayor Bernard Wagner registering their discontent with Vaughn’s selection. The letter begins by saying, “we write with grave concern regarding the purported appointment of Albert Vaughn as the City Administrator for Belize City”. In the letter, the councilors cite section thirteen of the Belize City Council Act which states that the council shall appoint a suitably qualified person as city administrator. The letter further notes that the executive arm of the council, the caucus, has not met to debate any recommendations for appointment, nor has any resolution been circulated to members regarding the appointment of a city administrator. All things considered; the six councilors referred to Vaughn’s appointment as unlawful. They requested a meeting of the council to debate the appointment of a city administrator. On Monday, News Five spoke with Vaughn and asked him about the experience he garnered as a councilor, as well as his qualifications, that equip him for the role. Here is what he told us.

 

Albert Vaughn, Newly Appointed City Administrator

“During my term as a councilor I have served in various capacities that has made me work very closely with the professional people at the Belize City Council in all areas. I believe that the former city administrator and I have a very close working relationship. I can safely say that I was part of her advising team here during my time as a councilor here. I have been to all this city council during the six years, I have been at works, traffic. I am comfortable and one of the major themes is in the finance department where you have to physically go in there and work with the finance team. I have run committee here in this council right. I have worked and I believe that I bring that experience to the table to help the mayor and the city.”