'I don't need the chain': Stouffville mayor expenses extra chain of office

Council motion limited use of town's Chain of Office

YorkRegion.com
Nov. 13, 2017
Simon Martin

"You can have the chain. I don't need the chain," Whitchurch-Stouffville Mayor Justin Altmann said at the Dec. 20 council meeting last year.

Altmann was beside himself about a motion that was later passed that limited the use of the town's Chain of Office to official council meetings.

The mayor's use of the Chain of Office at events like his wedding and putting it on Smiley, the now deceased blind-therapy dog, had upset some councillors. At the time, Altmann said he viewed the manoeuvre as a hindrance to him doing his job as ambassador for the town.

"I don't need the chain," he said. "I can wear a piece of plastic pool chain and I will still be Justin Altmann."

Less than six months later, the mayor expensed a custom red velvet chain from the Swyrich Corporation, International Coat of Arms in Kingston for $1,949.03. The invoice for the transaction was June 23rd and was labelled promotional.

Tom Gray, a sales representative for International Coat of Arms, described the item Altmann purchased and expensed to the taxpayers as a standard Chain of Office that municipalities often order.

Altmann has been photographed at various events since July with the chain around his neck, including a Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Stouffville Legion Nov. 11. He also presented the chain to at least two people in the community as an honour - Kevin Ker and Charles Devasagayam, who will have their names engraved on it.

On Nov. 5, he presented the chain to Devasagayam at the Tamil Mirror Awards Gala in Scarborough. In his remarks, Altmann emphasized the importance of the chain that had been in existence for less than five months.

"In the Municipality of Whitchurch-Stouffville, we have this very special, very prestigious chain of the people," he said. He also joked Devasagayam had to return the chain back to him by the end of the night or else he might lose his job.

Ward 3 Coun. Hugo Kroon said the chain doesn't mean anything.

"It's just a fashion accessory he purchased for himself," he said. "This is not the mayor's chain of office. It hasn't been authorized by anybody except himself. It's self-promotion through and through."

This is the latest chapter in the town's bizarre Chain of Office saga. Council's discontent with Altmann's use of the chain cropped up last summer when Ward 2 Coun. Maurice Smith voiced his displeasure that Smiley was wearing the Chain of Office.

"I believe the Chain of Office is an important symbol for the office of the mayor," Smith said at the time. "It should be used only by the mayor and only at very important town functions."

The formal motion from December placed limitations on the original chain's use, including that it not be taken beyond the borders of the town, only worn at official council meetings and that it be displayed in a publicly accessible area of the town hall in a display case under lock and key.

In a column earlier this year, Jim Thomas wrote that Altmann offered no apologies for his liberal use of the chain.

"In my position as town ambassador, it (the chain), lent a little grandeur to the job," Altmann said.

Altmann did not respond to a request to comment on the story.