A majority of Sarnia council is hoping Bill Dennis learns from his mistakes and keeps his comments to himself in the future.
In a 5-3 recorded vote, council decided to receive and file a report with no action from the integrity commissioner recommending councillor Dennis be reprimanded for "inappropriate behaviour" at the September 13, 2021 meeting.
Councillor Dennis withheld an apology for his previous exchange with councillor Mike Stark Monday, and said while he respected Paul Watson's decision he disagreed with it.
"First of all, did I mutter a cuss word, you bet I did, and no it wasn't fuddle duddle," Dennis said. "And because I'm a real person, after countless negative interactions with councillor Stark, he just, once again, attacked my integrity and honesty."
Dennis said mistakes happen, and he regrets that his curse was heard.
"To be very clear, it was never, ever, my intention for it to be heard as I had thought I had muted my mic," he said.
"I have always used my own personal iPhone for meetings to save the taxpayer money from having to buy me a new device. It does make for some challenges, including this particular case, thinking that my mic is muted, when obviously it wasn't and remember this was in the middle of a heated, personalized debate. One that Mr. Watson acknowledged that councillor Stark started."
Dennis went on to detail several instances where he and councillor Stark have disagreed, and accused Stark of attacking him through motions questioning the operations at Bluewater Power, where his wife serves as president and CEO.
"Bottom line, regardless of all of the personal attacks on myself and my family, from anyone in any form, I will continue to serve the taxpayers and hold my head high."
Dennis admitted there have been numerous integrity commissioner complaints filed against him, which he said, were all "thrown out" until now.
Councillor Mike Stark said that he has "never, ever, personally attacked anyone," on council.
"I have always dealt with policy issues and I am a strong advocate for looking after the taxpayer dollar, which involves making sure that outside agencies that are owned by the citizens of Sarnia are being looked after and being monitored for appropriate spending and priorities of their monies," said Stark.
He added that the report from the commissioner stands on its own merit.
"The councillor in question was found guilty, the other councillors and mayor who were mentioned in the (other) report, were found not guilty. I'll leave it at that."
Councillor Terry Burrell agreed with the recommendation but felt council shouldn't be the group deciding any reprimand.
"The commissioner, or the judge, should be the one leveling the penalty," said Burrell. "Sending it back to council to do that is just silliness as far as I'm concerned, because it puts us in a position where something that has nothing to do with some of the members, all of a sudden becomes a political football, because this is the way of the system the province setup. Let the province handle it."
Councillor George Vandenberg -- a former police officer who now works as a paralegal -- based his decision not to reprimand Dennis on 45 years of experience with the criminal justice system.
"If councillor Dennis was my client in the criminal court, I'd be advocating for an absolute discharge," said Vandenberg. "Looking at councillor Dennis' record over the last three and a half years, he has paid back his wages to the community. He always carries himself in a very professional manner. He brings a lot of specialism to this council. He always comes prepared."
Councillor Nathan Colquhoun revealed that he has filed a complaint about another alleged outburst by Dennis.
"I have an integrity commissioner complaint (filed) for something that happened in a closed meeting, for just how horrible it was," Colquhoun said. "It just needs to be said how shameful it is and how delusional it is to be patting yourself on the back for one outburst as if that's not the true version of who you are. It is who you are. Own it."
Councillor Dave Boushy urged his colleagues to move past the incident.
"We should not want to travel to the edge of the cliff and face the anger and resentment of the community as the election approaches," said Boushy. "The people depend on us for trust and getting together and moving forward. We may have to forgive, and forget, and move forward."
Councillor Margaret Bird supported the recommendation to receive and file the report, councillor Brian White voted against it.
A separate complaint that questioned the conduct of Mayor Mike Bradley, and councillors Nathan Colquhoun, Mike Stark and Dave Boushy was also filed with no further action.