Mayoral directives to CEO in spotlight
MAYORAL directives to the CEO may have conflicted with council policies and were later kept from councillors who remained in the dark, State Parliament has been told.
Submissions from Councillor Peter Young, GECKO, former city architect Philip Follent and the Tugun Progress Association have put the spotlight on the transparency of mayoral directions to council senior executives.
The parliamentary legal affairs and community safety committee late last year had asked for public submissions to help frame new laws about conduct for councillors which have yet to be passed following the election of a new government.
In his submission, Cr Young said he believed directives had been given “that are not in accordance with council’s policies”.
When he asked about these issues he said that “my inquiry has never been fully answered”.
“Also it is notable that previously there was a requirement to keep a record of directives. There is no requirement now,” he wrote.
Cr Young asked for the law to be changed to ensure that mayoral directives followed council policy and the directives were recorded.
Several councillors admit they are not aware of all the directions given by the Mayor to CEO Dale Dickson because no formal process exists for them to be recorded.
When they did, Councillor Glenn Tozer sought for the directives to be reviewed by the CEO and for the Local Government Department to cast an eye over them (see story right).
The Bulletin yesterday asked Mayor Tom Tate if he supported councillors being provided with all directives, that a register be introduced for the public to see them and if he considered all of his directions abided by council policy.
In a statement, he replied: “The mayoral directives are issued in accordance with the Local Government Act 2009. Some are operational and verbal.
“I’m not the kind of mayor who sits on his hands and neither do our ratepayers expect their mayor to be operating in first gear. They want a mayor to get things done in a timely manner and within budget, while keeping rates low at CPI or less.
“A ‘do-nothing option’ — with no directives — is just not me. I will not let the City stall.
“I can’t help it, I have that Gold Coast have-a-go-spirit.’’
Submissions by Mr Follent and the Tugun Progress Association alleged questioning of a mayoral directive could be met with an “insult” and the risk of being reported “to the Department for inappropriate conduct”.
“Previous governance procedures required that a record of directives be kept. There is no longer such requirement for that intent,” Mr Follent said.
GECKO raised the concern that “councillors do not know what communication has transpired between the mayor and council staff”.
“This situation has the capacity to put councillors in an invidious position and needs to rectified,” the Gold Coast Environment Council said. MAYOR TOM TATE