A GoFundMe page has been created for Whitchurch-Stouffville Mayor Justin Altmann’s replica chain of office after he charged taxpayers $1,949 for the “promotional item.”

The page was created on Thursday “to pay the town back” for the cost of the red chain, dubbed the “people’s community chain.”

On Thursday evening, $757 of the $1,949 goal has been raised. One of the donors appears to Altmann’s wife, Jenny Altmann, who gave $100.

The chain of office, which is passed down from mayor to mayor to symbolize authority, caused tension among councillors after Altmann allowed the chain to be worn by kids, a blind therapy dog and Santa. The councillors said the chain should be worn only by the mayor at official council events.

The formal motion from December placed limitations on the original chain’s use, including that it not taken beyond the borders of the town, only be worn at official council meetings, and that it be displayed in a publicly accessible area of town hall locked in a display case.

After councillors suggested the official royal blue chain be locked up in a display case, they noticed Altmann purchased a replica costing $1,949 from Swyrich Corp.

“With all the crap going on in Whitchurch Stouffville and the contemptious (sic) debate of the Chain of Office the Mayor is NOT ALLOWED to remove from office or wear as he see's fit, I've had enough and feel that if the town wants to complain about this one and the fact it was expensed then let's chip in to raise the $1949 to pay the town back for this undue hardship which equates to $.01 per resident,” the GoFundme page’s author Kevin Wagg wrote.

The chain is not the main issue in town, the page says but an issue of “BULLYING and a constant witch hunt” of Altmann.

Altmann caused controversy this year with his creation of a “CSI-style” wall of photos in his office washroom. On the wall was dozens of photos of fellow of former councillors, town staffers and Star reporter Noor Javed.

In September Altmann defended his use of the chain and his wall describing it as his “mind map.”