TWO Wakool Shire councillors have resigned amid a longstanding dispute with the mayor, with both parties presenting alternate accounts of what has happened.
Anthony Jackson and Colin Membrey tendered their resignation to the council last week and were not present at its December business meeting on Wednesday.
In his resignation letter, Mr Jackson accused Wakool Shire Mayor Neil Gorey of having an “autocratic style of leadership and conduct” that was detrimental to the shire.
Mr Jackson, who stood down as deputy mayor in August citing a lack of communication and consultation with the mayor as his reasons, said the situation regarding councillor access to information and communication had not improved since that point.
He also accused the mayor of trying to negotiate the exit from council of general manager Bruce Graham, without the approval of other councillors.
“It seems to be a personal issue the mayor has with you, senior staff and other councillors, that drives his actions,” Mr Jackson wrote to Mr Graham.
Cr Gorey had a different account of affairs, however, saying there had been ongoing issues with both Mr Jackson and Mr Membrey over the past 12 months or more.
“One of the councillors wears two hats in that he’s a property developer and also a councillor,” he said.
“Those two councillors, as members of a community organisation, were clashing with other community groups as well.
“There have been other ongoing concerns with the organisation for some time, but because of ongoing processes I’m not at liberty at this stage to comment too much.”
Though wishing not to be drawn on the subject of an alleged code of conduct investigation into council members, Cr Gorey said he was “aware of ongoing issues and [had] been concerned with certain behaviours throughout the organisation for some time”.
He also said both former councillors had attempted to remove the general manager in the past.
“They have resigned for reasons other than what they stated in their resignation letters,” he said.
For more on this story, grab a copy of Friday’s Guardian (December 11).
