04 October 2016

Should we all just get along?

There seems to be some disquiet recently after Council meetings that we appear to be a little dysfunctional. The tone of a meeting is the direct responsibility of the Mayor and he must take some responsibility for this. Then there is the rest of us, what is our responsibility?
I would argue that my responsibility is to;

  • Keep my self informed of Council business
  • To read all the material supplied to me by Council diligently
  • To form opinion based on fact
  • To listen and learn to what the community has to say
  • Not interfere in the work of staff
  • Give my opinion and support to Motions based on the above
I am often the only one who votes against a motion, sometimes I have a few more supporters, but I will not vote with the majority if what they want is, in my opinion, not in the best interest of Council.
It seems to me that there are elected members that do not always do  all of the above, it is these that are causing the problems that Lachlan perceives so clearly from the chair. The problem is that it is these very members that can not see the failings in themselves that cause the issue. It is time for some tough talk, one to one to let the offenders know what the issue is and what needs to change.
At the last Council meeting one member had a direct, an unfounded, shot at me as I was on Council when the Unley Shopping Centre was sold. We were debating the finish time of meetings. Relevance to the topic; nil. To set the record straight we sold the Shopping Centre because running such a facility is not the core business of Council and  we needed to retire debt. 

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