The Linden Mayor and Town Council has asked the Local Government Commission to place Town Clerk Lennox Gasper on administrative leave pending an independent investigation into correspondence in which he told the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) that the Council had selected him as its representative on the authority’s Planning Board.

In a September 2026 statement, the Council said it had become aware of an August 14, 2026 letter from Gasper to CH&PA Secretary Rajesh Ramgolam, in which the Town Clerk stated that the Council, during its statutory meeting on August 5, had decided that he would serve as its representative on the new CH&PA Planning Board.

However, the Linden Mayor and Town Council says it has no knowledge of making such a decision at that meeting.

The disputed correspondence, dated August 14 and addressed to Ramgolam, states: “please be informed that the Council at its Statutory Meeting held on August 5, 2026, has made a decision for Mr. Lennox Gasper, Town Clerk as the representative to serve on the new Central Planning & Authority Planning Board.”

The letter also provided Gasper’s telephone number and email address as contact information for the CH&PA.

The Council has now raised questions about the circumstances under which the letter was issued and whether it accurately represented an official decision of the elected body.

The Council described the matter as serious and unprecedented, particularly because the correspondence was directed to a statutory authority and attributed a decision to the Council which the Council says was never made.

As a result, the Council has formally requested that the Local Government Commission consider placing Gasper on administrative leave while a formal and independent investigation is conducted into the matter.

The Council said any further administrative or disciplinary action should only follow the findings of the investigation and the applicable procedures.

Mayor H. W. Dominique Blair, J.P., said the Council’s position is that decisions must be made through the proper process, accurately recorded and faithfully communicated.

The Council further maintained that no individual officer should communicate to a statutory authority that the elected body has taken a decision when, according to the Council, no such decision was made.

The councillors have also provided individual written endorsements supporting the representation made to the Local Government Commission.