(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

Penticton's city council has adopted a new code of conduct, but two councillors voted against it for fear it would cause more problems than solutions.

The new code of conduct, created by the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, was adopted by Penticton city council, Feb. 20, and councillors Amelia Boultbee and James Miller voted against it.

Coun. Boultbee said it has many problems but the main one is that's it too vague.

"The code of conduct as it's currently drafted, I think, is going to cause more problems than it actually deals with," she told iNFOnews.ca.

There's no appeal process and there are automatic financial penalties that are onerous, she said. The penalty for a first breach of the code is a 10% reduction in pay for 12 months.

"My problem isn't the dollar value... it's that the punishment goes on for so long," Boultbee said. "If somebody does go against the code of conduct, and they've changed their behaviour and apologies have been made, you're still going to punish that person for a year. That sounds pretty draconian to me.

"The code is drafted so ambiguously. It prescribes some things really specifically like dealing with the public, and dealing with the media. When it comes to other forms of conduct, it's very vague so I think it's actually going to generate complaints within council because it's actually not prescriptive enough."

Boultbee said it leaves too much room for interpretation which can lead to long disputes over conduct that could have seemed appropriate to one councillor, but inappropriate to another.

The new code rescinds the Respective Workplace Policy and removes definitions of sexual harassment and bullying, she said.

The code of conduct defines a set of rules, principles and behaviours that the council and its members have to abide by.

The entire code of conduct policy is available here.

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