Whittlesea council should be thrown out and an administrator appointed if its behaviour doesn’t improve, according to one councillor.
North ward councillor and former mayor Ricky Kirkham told Star Weekly he was considering his future on the council amid months of growing tension between councillors.
Star Weekly understands that another councillor has taken leave. Cr Mary Lalios was not at the last meeting and it unclear when she will return.
“If the conduct of this council continues – then it deserves to be put into administration,” Cr Kirkham said.
He said that the division between the councillors – with the council openly split into two voting groups – and the constant removal of councillors from meetings was stopping them from focusing on the issues that mattered.
Councillors have been ejected from four of the past five council meetings.
“It is the reputation of the whole administration that is on the line,” Cr Kirkham said.
“When councillors are removed from the chambers, it undermines our credibility.”
Cr Kirkham’s comments follow a heated council meeting last Tuesday to adopt the draft 2018-19 budget in which he moved a dissent motion against mayor Kris Pavlidis.
He said the budget process “undermined the principles of democracy” after Cr Pavlidis ruled he was unable to put forward amendments to the proposed budget.
Speaking at the meeting, Cr Kirkham said Cr Pavlidis was preventing his opinion from being heard.
“If this is the way this administration is going to continue to operate, I think we are going to have big, big problems,” he said. “It is not something I am going to roll over on.”
Cr Kirkham said he was considering referring the budget process to the Local Government Inspectorate or Victorian Ombudsman.
Cr Pavlidis defended her decision, saying she did not allow the amendments on advice of the council governance manager Michael Tonta.
“The role of the chair is to run the meeting as orderly as possible,” she said.
The council has caught the attention of the state government after Star Weekly reported rising tension within the council.
A spokesman for Local Government Minister Marlene Kairouz said: “We will continue to monitor the operation of City of Whittlesea.”
