The statement of claim says Garbe, Beros, Muench and Spatafora failed to disclose their personal, familial and business interests with land developers, contrary to obligations under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.

The lawsuit accuses them of trying to usurp legal requirements to secure zoning and subdivision approvals for certain developers, attempting to secure greater servicing allocation for the developers, recommending council approve the sale of land to further the special interests of developers and demanding the town circumvent the Planning Act to assist developers against the explicit advice of the town solicitor.

The statement of claim also refers to defendants bullying, mobbing, intimidation and publicly admonishing town staff — behaviour that created a poisoned work environment and caused Bassios mental distress and anxiety, she alleges.

This conduct, it claims, was intended to procure her termination of employment in reprisal for, among other things, reporting a workplace harassment complaint and to further a personal agenda designed to assist private developers with special interests before the town.

Bassios notified the defendants of her intention to file a formal workplace harassment complaint and, one day later, Garbe initiated and arranged a meeting of council for the purpose of terminating her without cause, according to the statement of claim.

This was despite the fact that Bassios consistently received excellent performance reviews, it added.

The statement of defence filed by the defendants called Bassios’s claims “exaggerated, excessive and remote;” majority of town councillors had already lost confidence in Bassios by January 2017, “if not much earlier,” and had serious concerns about her ability to continue to satisfactorily perform her duties, according to the defendants.

Bassios’s allegations are “patently false, wholly fabricated and designed merely to defame and embarrass the personal defendants and pressure the town into paying more to the plaintiff than she would otherwise legally be entitled to or would be appropriate in the circumstances.”

The plaintiff was offered a generous termination package, including pay in lieu of notice, which met or exceeded any legal entitlements, the defence says.

But Bassios said she was told she was fired without cause and has not settled on severance or damages with any of the parties.

Because the town has resisted producing documents and moving the proceedings along, Bassios said, her lawyers plan to bring a motion before the court in July, asking the court to take over case management.

Ward 2 Councillor Muench, the only one of the defendants to return The Liberal’s call, said he was not surprised by the lawsuit, but denied the allegations.

"I didn’t collude or discuss or engage with anybody,” he said. “There was no monkey business. A decision was made and we go on from there. This is all about money.”

Regional Councillor Brenda Hogg, one of three councillors (in addition to Karen Cilevitz and David West) who expressed dismay at the firing of Bassios last year, said she’d been “flabbergasted” at the dismissal and is still unclear of the reasons why.

“To the best of my knowledge, I never heard anything about poor performance or inattention to the job or any complaints. I was totally broadsided,” Hogg said. “She always was on the side of the entire corporation and she was the person I trusted most, hands down.”