Row emerges at Peel Town Commissioners over member's online claims

Local authority member says concerns over conflicts of interest "not being taken seriously"

A row is underway in the west of the Island between Peel Town Commissioners and one of its board members.

It follows a video posted online by Katryna Baptist, in which she raised a series of concerns about governance, transparency and accountability within the local authority.

In a follow-up interview with Manx Radio, Ms Baptist says she believes the issues she has raised reflect 'deeper, systemic problems' - not just isolated disagreements.

She says difficulties around communication, record-keeping and decision-making have been ongoing for some time, and have led to increasing frustration.

“I’m just getting stonewalled… and some of the responses I’m really unhappy with,” she says.

Meanwhile, Peel Town Commissioners says Ms Baptist's comments are 'inaccurate' and 'do not reflect the views of the Board'.

It adds she will now be subject to an internal investigation following complaints about her misrepresentation of statutory processes and the 'unfounded' personal attacks on her colleagues.

“Not efficient, not professional”

A central concern for Ms Baptist is how meetings are recorded and reported.

She says delays in producing minutes - sometimes several weeks after meetings - make it difficult for commissioners to verify their accuracy, with members relying on memory to challenge what has been recorded.

“These meetings can go on for more than three hours, and then you’re trying to remember everything that was said almost a month later,” she says.

Ms Baptist also describes the current system as outdated, pointing to handwritten notes and what she sees as repeated inaccuracies.

“It’s not efficient, it’s not professional and it’s really dated.”

She believes recording or broadcasting meetings would improve both accuracy and transparency, while also making proceedings more accessible to the public.

Beyond Peel, Ms Baptist is calling for a more standardised approach to governance across all local authorities on the Island.

She says there is currently no clear “best practice” framework, and believes that should change.

Suggestions include recorded or livestreamed meetings, clearer documentation, and improved access to internal policies and procedures for elected members.

“I come from a business background and for me it would make sense to have a standardised best practice across all of the local authorities,” she says.

She also questions informal approaches to meetings, saying discussions about public business should take place in appropriate settings.

“Peel deserves better than this. We shouldn’t be having meetings in the pub about the way that the town is run.”

In response, Peel Town Commissioners says minutes of the proceedings of all PTC’s ordinary meetings are circulated to the Members, and a Member can challenge the accuracy of Minutes by means of raising a motion, which has to be seconded before it can be debated. 

It adds that Ms Baptist has 'neither raised nor secured any amendments in accordance with these procedures, and all published Minutes have received Board approval'.

When Manx Radio attempted to look through the latest minutes, it found Peel Town Commissioners has not published any since November 2025's meeting - the local authority claims there is currently a 'technical glitch' which prevents it from posting its minutes to its new website.

It says: "PTC’s IT consultant is currently working on this, and they will continue to post PTC’s Minutes to the website until this has been resolved". 

But it adds that all approved minutes have now been posted to the website, which we have confirmed is the case.

Conflicts of interest

Ms Baptist also raised concerns about how conflicts of interest are declared and managed.

She says the current system relies on a handwritten register kept at the Town Hall, which she describes as difficult to access, not always up to date, and “barely legible”.

Ms Baptist has also raised concerns about the way information is stored, suggesting the existing register may include more personal data than necessary and could lead to data protection issues.

Manx Radio approached the Isle of Man's Information Commissioner who said: "Organisations must ensure that whatever structured filing system they use, whether manual or digital, delivers accurate, up-to-date, and secure information, and allows appropriate access. Poorly maintained or illegible records, limited accessibility, or weak audit controls could undermine compliance. Organisations should ensure their processes meet the required standards of accuracy, transparency, and accountability."

Ms Baptist believes there should be a more transparent and accessible system, potentially published online, allowing the public to see members’ declared interests.

“We do the bare minimum,” she said.

Ms Baptist also claims she had raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest and received a report, written by the Clerk.

She told Manx Radio: “The conclusion wasn’t correct, so I asked what external research has been done, or what input have you had from others to gain this conclusion. Essentially there was none.”

As a result, she sought external advice from the Office of Fair Trading which she says concluded “it is a conflict of interest”.

Ms Baptist says she has not received a response from Peel Town Commissioners after presenting that information.

“I don’t feel like it’s being taken seriously at the moment.”

More broadly, Ms Baptist says there is a gap in oversight and accountability for local authorities.

While advice can be sought from government departments, she says there is no clear route for elected members themselves to escalate concerns or request independent investigation.

“We need some sort of channel… and standardising that best practice across the Island,” she said.

She adds that seeking independent legal advice is not always practical for commissioners, given the role is voluntary, and unpaid.

"Continual inappropriate, disruptive behaviour"

In response to Ms Baptist's concerns over conflicts of interest, Peel Town Commissioners says: "Where Ms Baptist has raised issues in relation to conflicts of interest with the Board previously these have been addressed.

It also claims to have recently directed several serious allegations at staff and fellow Board Members around breaching standing orders and Local Government Act 1985 provisions. 

Following investigation, no breach of standing orders was found to have occurred, with no further action being required, it says.

The Board told Manx Radio that Ms Baptist has been made aware of these decisions and remains unhappy with the conclusions.

Adding to that, the Board raised concerns in relation to Ms Baptist’s conduct around not following due process. 

The Board says it agreed on 19 March that they had no confidence in Mrs. Baptist continuing her duties and unanimously resolved that Ms. Baptist be removed from the PTC Event Lead Member Committee and as Youth Representative, due to her continual inappropriate, disruptive behaviour.

The allegations made by Ms Baptist will be subject to an internal investigation, it says, following complaints from Members and Officers on both her misrepresentation of PTC’s statutory processes and the unfounded personal attacks on her colleagues.

Message to residents

Meanwhile, Ms Baptist says she understands residents may be concerned by the issues being raised, particularly in relation to how decisions are made and how public money is spent.

She also suggests that commissioners are not always aware of correspondence sent to the local authority’s general mailboxes and is encouraging residents to contact elected members directly where possible.

“At least then we know that things are being progressed… because a lot of the time we just don’t.”

Concerns from elsewhere on the Isle of Man

Rushen MHK Michelle Haywood, who previously served as a Port St Mary Commissioner, says the issues being highlighted are not new, but are becoming increasingly important.

Speaking during a previous debate on the Local Government (Amendment) Bill, she told the House of Keys the legislation was designed to address longstanding concerns.

“The issues the Bill addresses - conflict of interest, transparency and governance standards - have not diminished with time,” she said.

“If anything, they have become more pressing, with the prospect of corruption in our local authorities still being a pressing one.”

Dr Haywood believes local authorities have a responsibility to operate openly.

“They impose a tax, and so if you have tax-raising powers, then you also have to have some responsibility for publishing your accounts and publishing your minutes and your decisions,” she says.

She adds that transparency is essential to maintaining public confidence, ensuring there can be no suspicion around how decisions are made or contracts awarded.

Dr Haywood also suggests that resistance to publishing information has existed in the past, including from Peel, but believes the proposed legislative changes would require greater openness.

Reflecting on her own experience as a commissioner, she says delays in producing minutes and inaccuracies were not unique issues, describing instances where significant time was spent correcting records from previous meetings, with minutes only becoming available shortly before the next sitting.

Dr Haywood suggested the use of technology could help improve accuracy and efficiency, including recording meetings or using digital tools to produce transcripts.

Further response

Manx Radio has invited Katryna Baptist to respond further to the statement issued by Peel Town Commissioners and is due to speak with her in due course.

You can read Peel Town Commissioners' statement in full HERE.

Listen

Ms Baptist's interview in full: