Coun. Bill Sarai has apologized to Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson, to council, and to the public following an investigation that found he breached council’s code of conduct policy.

According to the City of Kamloops, Sarai breached the code of conduct by recording a conversation between himself and the mayor without the mayor’s knowledge and later denied knowing about the source of the recording.

After the incident came to light, Sarai was relieved of his duties as deputy mayor and issued a public apology.

“I find it significant that Coun. Sarai has taken public accountability for his actions and already suffered some consequences,” Harding wrote.

Investigator Reece Harding made several recommendations in his report, including that Sarai receive a letter of reprimand from council.

At the June 24 regular council meeting, Sarai delivered letters of apology to everyone around the horseshoe.

“This is what the code of conduct should be doing. I’m humbly accepting that I know I have work to do to build trust with residents. I’m not going to let seven minutes of tape tarnish seven years of elected work. I have work to do and I’m willing to do it,” Sarai said.

Sarai must also receive training on respectful workplace communications. If he doesn’t, he will face a five percent reduction in his pay.

The complaint against Sarai is one of four substantiated code of conduct complaints now published on the City of Kamloops website, found at kamloops.ca/governance.

The three others concern Hamer-Jackson. The first, occurring in July 2023, found Hamer-Jackson to be in breach of the bylaw by misleading the public.

Following an investigation, the mayor was directed to issue a letter of apology and complete mandatory training on his code of conduct obligations and respectful workplace communications.

According to the city, the mayor did not sign the letter of apology and his pay was reduced by 10 percent, and later by another 15 percent.

Another complaint, occurring in March 2024, found the mayor in breach of the code of conduct and in violation of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). He again refused to apologize or attend mandatory training and multiple council resolutions, one as recent as April 2025, further reduced the mayor’s pay until he complies.

The third substantiated complaint against the mayor is from April 2024, which found Hamer-Jackson repeatedly breached confidentiality and privacy by releasing a privileged and confidential report and closed council meeting resolution to media.

The mayor again refused to apologize and council resolved to remove his vehicle allowance and limit his access to confidential information at city hall.