Staffer arrested after ‘incident’ at Nanaimo City Hall

More turmoil at Nanamio City Hall.

A statement posted to the city’s website on Monday says an arrest was made last week “due to an incident” at city hall.

While charges have not been laid, the city goes on to say the RCMP has initiated an ongoing investigation.

“We take this incident very seriously. Thanks to the professional response of our staff, we remain confident in the safety of our municipal hall and our ability to provide ongoing services and support to residents and businesses here in Nanaimo,” said Mayor Bill McKay in a statement.

But Councillors are keeping quiet about the details of the incident. Councillor Gord Fuller would only say that the incident involved a city employee.

“Until we know whether charges are going to be pressed or anything like that, we really can’t say anything else,” he told Global News.

The arrest follows a string of incidents involving Nanaimo City Council.

READ MORE: City of Nanaimo sues its own mayor

Nanaimo chief administrative officer Tracy Samra had previously alleged Councillor Wendy Pratt assaulted her during a meeting back in February, however a special prosecutor appointed by Mounties to probe issues on the council declined to recommend any charges last November.

Pratt resigned her post last April.

The year before, an email allegedly written by Mayor McKay containing sensitive personal information about councillors was leaked.

And prior to that, councillors had penned a letter accusing the mayor of secret business dealings and calling for an RCMP investigation. A group of councillors had also previously published a letter of non-confidence in McKay, accusing him of bullying the city’s chief administrative officer.