Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke is defending city staff and the hiring of an American real estate development consulting firm following allegations of improper conduct by a trio of city councillors.

A Monday news release from city hall says a closed-door council meeting Friday (March 21) addressed "misleading statements" by councillors Mike Bose, Linda Annis and Doug Elford. The meeting also aimed to "protect staff," criticized by Bose for telling the city councillor  related to work by Chicago-based  on projects at Cloverdale Fairgrounds and a possible arena in Surrey City Centre.

The mayor says Hunden was hired in 2024, "well before the current U.S. tariff environment, and all contractual arrangements have been conducted lawfully," Locke declared in the news release.

香蕉视频直播淎ny suggestion by Councillors Bose and Annis that our professional staff acted improperly by directing information requests through the Freedom of Information (FOI) process is unfounded," the mayor stated.

"This includes misleading information provided to the media by Councillor Elford that staff should have simply handed him information regarding the salaries of two staff members, implying that staff were obstructing him due to his position. This is patently false and grossly misrepresents the duties and obligations of our employees under FIPPA (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act). In all cases, city staff were, in fact, fulfilling their obligations under provisions of the FIPPA.香蕉视频直播�

Friday's closed-door meeting saw council pass four resolutions "to ensure accountability, correct misinformation and preserve public confidence," including the , now posted on the city's website (surrey.ca).

The firm was contracted in 2024 to study the creation of a mixed-use entertainment district at Cloverdale Fairgrounds and come up with a conceptual design of a City Centre Arena & Entertainment District, among other work, for $924,000, with a balance of $271,795.57 remaining for one of three contracts.

Also, a  has been posted on the city's website including a three-page legal opinion on the matter from Lidstone & Company.

On March 17, Bose said he was "more than shocked" when Surrey's general manager of finance told him to file a Freedom of Information request if he wanted information about Hunden's work in Surrey.

"Being told to file an FOI application is a real slap in the face," Bose said at the time. "City councillors need to know everything there is to know about our city and its business, and this ridiculous roadblock tells me I've hit a nerve, and someone doesn't want taxpayers to know what's going on between the City of Surrey and the Hunden Partners of Chicago."

Also at Friday's closed meeting, the city council initiated an external investigation into whether Bose and Annis "breached city bylaws or policies by publicly disclosing Closed Council information," according to the news release from city hall, and whether Bose, Annis and Elford "made inappropriate comments about staff香蕉视频直播檚 FOI directives in possible contravention of the City香蕉视频直播檚 Respectful Workplace Policy."

Any councillor "who deliberately drags our dedicated staff into partisan agendas will be called to account for misrepresenting the facts,香蕉视频直播� Locke stated. 香蕉视频直播淭hese actions erode trust and hinder the effective governance our residents expect and deserve.香蕉视频直播�

The mayor said a priority at city hall is to "provide clear information to Surrey residents and to protect the integrity of our democratic processes. We will always stand up for our staff when they carry out their lawful duties and for the public when they deserve to know the facts.香蕉视频直播�

Also Monday (March 24), Bose and Annis, both aligned as Surrey First councillors, called on city hall to "stop sending Surrey tax dollars to Chicago" and cancel Surrey's contract with the Hunden company.

"Every contract has a cancellation clause," Annis noted. "These are very different times, and the American tariff threat is real. That means we should be buying closer to home and working with British Columbia and Canadian companies that can carry out this kind of planning and consultation work."

Annis also suggests there are "too many secrets and behind-closed-door meetings" at city hall, "with taxpayers sidelined and kept in the dark about city decisions."

香蕉视频直播攚ith a file from Tom Zytaruk