BALRANALD Shire Council is allegedly in “real danger” of becoming dysfunctional, disgracing itself to the community and unable to make decisions, according to a complaint lodged against the council.
The damning Code of Conduct complaint came to light earlier this week, and follows confirmation of an investigation by the NSW Internal Audit Bureau.
The Guardian understands the complaint has been made to the NSW Department of Local Government regarding alleged “serious misconduct” of Mayor Steve O’Halloran.
It stated Cr O’Halloran’s “actions have brought this council’s reputation in the region to that of a laughing stock”.
A timeline of events that brought about the complaint were listed.
Accusations of deception, undermining of council officers, vocal outbursts and abuse of power were contained in the complaint.
The document alleged the actions were sufficient to see him “forfeit the right to be a councillor with his all-consuming obsession for power and his abuse of his position to the deliberate and pre-meditated detriment of others”.
“There is a real danger of the council becoming completely dysfunctional, being unable to raise a quorum to hold meetings and disgracing itself in the eyes of the community,” the document claimed.
“This is not the Local Government I have spent years working to serve and promote the integrity of.
“Immediate, decisive and cauterising action needs to be taken by the Department.”
The Guardian understands a representative of the NSW Internal Audit Bureau visited Balranald Shire Council at the end of May.
At the time, Balranald Shire Council declined to provide details of the investigation, but confirmed it was ongoing.
“I can confirm that we have retained IAB to investigate some matters and due to confidentiality I will not be making any comments,” general manager Aaron Drenovski said at the time.
Following the most recent developments in the council saga, council again declined to comment yesterday as it was a “confidential matter”.
“At this stage, it is a confidential matter that relates to the report, so I won’t be making any statement in regards to the report and will not be making any statement until the matter is resolved,” Mr Drenovski said. “The matter is ongoing. As part of the process we have a complaints officer dealing with the matter, once it is resolved a report will be handed to the general manager.
“I anticipate that could happen in the next couple of months.”
Mr Drenovski said that until the report was finalised, he could not comment on what details — if any — would be made public.
When The Guardian contacted Mayor Steve O’Halloran on Thursday he declined to comment on the matter.
