'It’s come back to haunt us again': Suspended Woodstock mayor appears at Oxford County Council

Suspended Woodstock Mayor Trevor Birtch attended Oxford County Council Wednesday morning.

Birtch, who is on a paid leave from Woodstock City Council, is still able to participate in meetings for the county, and attended this meeting virtually.

“We passed a motion at our last meeting that when he makes application for a leave of absence, it will be granted,” said Larry Martin, Oxford County warden.

“To this point in time, we haven't received that leave of absence request, so there was nothing to grant,” Martin added.

This was the first meeting since Oxford council voted 7-2 to approve a leave, as long as Birtch required it in writing.

It was a different approach than Woodstock City Council took, by approving a motion to give Birtch full pay until November, and doesn’t require him to request the leave.

The two councillors opposed to the recent vote were Deb Tait and Acting Woodstock Mayor Connie Lauder.

“It certainly is something that I wouldn't have chosen because it comes back to haunt us again,” said Lauder.

“Women’s groups like DASO [Domestic Abuse Services Oxford], and the London Abused Women’s Centre were in support of him not participating, and they were very happy that our city council chose to take the way we did it. Our big concern is that it just brings up more opportunity for people to say that we're not really doing anything and we're doing all we can under the Municipal Act,” Lauder added.

Lauder was notified by Birtch that he would be attending Wednesday’s meeting and she would not be required to sit in for him, so she sat in the back of council chambers.

She expects to be attending the next few meetings in his place, as Birtch is only required to attend one in every four meetings.

“Hopefully, that we can get this straightened up at the county level and that that Trevor doesn't come back to any of the other meetings,” said Lauder. “But again, he is entitled to do so.”

CTV News London reached out to Birtch to see if he had any plans of writing a letter to Oxford County Council to approve a paid leave of absence. We have not yet received a response.

Birtch has been charged with a total of six counts of sexual assault and assault stemming from two alleged incidents.

While under the Municipal Act, Birtch is allowed to continue attending meetings, Martin admits it has been a distraction.

“All we can do is wait for the courts to make their decision and then we can carry on from there,” said Martin. “But there's not a lot we can do until that happens”.

The allegations against Birtch have not been proven in court. Birtch is scheduled to appear in court on July 4.

“Everyone is innocent until proven guilty,” said Martin.