Toodyay Herald

Mr Scott served written notice to last month’s council meeting that he wants to keep his $223,000 a year job when his four-year employment contract ends in July.

However, councillors went behind closed doors to reject his bid to start talks on a new contract, saying they need first to decide if he should keep his job.

Shire President Brian Rayner has called a special council meeting for 11.30am on Tuesday February 19 to discuss whether Mr Scott should get a new contract.

Mr Scott’s current contract states “there is no compulsion” for councillors to agree to a new contract when the old one expires.

His recommendation last month for the council to start talks with him for a new contract was moved by Cr Judy Dow, seconded by Cr Paula Greenway and backed by President Rayner.

It was defeated 5-3 by Deputy President Therese Chitty, Audit Committee Chair Rob Welburn, and Crs Eric Twine, Ben Bell and Bill Manning (Cr Craig Brook absent).

A motion by Cr Bell, seconded by Deputy President Chitty, to terminate Mr Scott’s employment when his contract expires on July 20 was lost 7-1 when only Cr Bell voted in favour.

Cr Welburn then seconded a motion by Cr Manning that the council:

• enter into discussions with the CEO as to whether the council and the CEO wish to enter into a new contract employment for a further term, and
• determine whether to enter into a new contract of employment with the CEO by no later than 18 April 2019 (the day before the four-day Easter break).

The motion was carried 7-1 with Cr Bell opposed.

It is unlikely that a report on the Toodyay council will be completed and any adverse findings made before Easter, and it certainly won’t occur before this month’s special meeting to discuss whether the council should offer the CEO a new contract.

The CEO’s contract is likely to be discussed behind closed doors which means the meeting agenda – when published – will not show any recommendations put forward for the council to consider or who proposed it.

The inquiry follows 11 months of State Government monitoring of shire operations and affairs after a warning that the shire had shown “not only a lack of understanding of the provisions of legislation but also a propensity to misinterpret other legalities and procedures”.

Mr Scott refused at first to reveal the department’s criticism of the shire to the council, saying it was an administrative matter.

It prompted the shock resignation of newly elected Cr Di Granger after Mr Scott accused her in a Saturday afternoon email of ignorance and inexperience, and said he expected the council to “immediately jump on” her for questioning his actions with “ill-informed” criticism.

Mr Scott’s email to former Cr Granger is part of a widening group of matters now being examined by local government investigators.

Toodyay is one of five WA councils currently under State investigation.

What’s being investigated?

THE TERMS of reference cover:

• The adequacy of and adherence to council policies and procedures by elected members and administration staff,
• enforcement actions undertaken by the Shire of Toodyay,
  the function of the audit committee,
• declarations of interests by elected members,
• the culture within the shire, and
• any other matter that comes to the person’s attention during the inquiry.

Three Perth investigators have been interviewing local residents since early December.

They have powers to enter shire premises, seize shire computers, phone records and other property, inspect records held by banks and question staff and councillors under oath.

A motion by Cr Bell to censure President Rayner for allowing “false and misleading” information about the inquiry to be published in last month’s Toodyay Community Newsletter was carried 5-4.

President Rayner did not speak during the debate and voted to censure himself in a 4-4 split before using his casting vote as President to enable it to be carried.

Crs Dow, Greenway, Welburn and Twine voted against the censure motion, which was published in the minutes as being carried “not by an absolute majority” without saying why this was relevant to the vote, which was not declared invalid, or raised as a voting requirement during the debate.

Still ‘false and misleading’

THE SHIRE website continued to publish the “false and misleading” article early this month despite a correction titled “Local Government Authorised Inquiry Update” several items down a list of  other articles in the website’s ‘News and Media’ section.

Ratepayers who got the newsletter by mail were not told it was false and misleading.

Matters being investigated under the State Government inquiry include:

• The loss of more than $550,000 in legal fees in a failed WA Supreme Court case against two former shire leaders;
• Mr Scott’s failed bid to sell shire-owned O’Reilly’s Cottage for $530,000 for use as an art gallery despite a long-standing verbal agreement and town planning approval for Heartlands Veterinary Hospital to lease the property to avoid having to leave town;
• unlawful 2016 rates that had to be quashed by a State tribunal and re-issued correctly to hundreds of rural ratepayers;
• the loss of at least $36,500 in legal fees last year after Mr Scott wrote a letter that botched a shire prosecution for an alleged dog attack on sheep;
• a further $6000 lost in legal fees after Mr Scott rejected an overseas visitor’s request last year to waive a $60 fine for parking on the wrong side of a road, and
• breaches of the Shire Code of Conduct.

Local government law says a council may be required to pay all or part of the cost of an authorised inquiry if there is an adverse finding against the council or any councillor or employee.

Mr Scott declined to comment.

Cr Judy Dow left the chamber after declaring a financial interest because she and former Shire president David Dow own a house in Hamersley Street on the bypass route, and Cr Craig Brook was absent with leave.
Main Roads WA said the fifth dangerous corner – at the intersection of Harper Road and Stirling Terrace near Newcastle Bridge – was too costly to upgrade because it would require substantial bridge works.

The council still has a July 2016 decision on its books to cut down the Anzac trees to limit the shire’s legal liability if there is a serious traffic accident on that corner.

Public not told

The decision was made without public consultation or notifying the RSL, and was not published in the agenda before being raised as urgent business at the end of the council meeting after a dinner break.

The shire was caught off guard by public reaction when the news was published a week later on Page 1 of The Herald.

It led to a tense stand-off between police and protesters when shire contractors with chainsaws arrived to remove the trees.

Protesters called former Cr Sally Craddock to the scene, and she got the reluctant support of Crs Paula Greenway and Brian Rayner who – after a heated argument with protesters – agreed to sign a formal shire request to refer the matter back to the council.

However, former president David Dow ruled at the August 2016 meeting that Cr Craddock’s new motion to rescind the previous month’s decision was out of order because it needed three signatures to be debated.

Threat deferred

Cr Craddock’s motion lapsed but councillors voted 9-0 to accept Deputy President Therese Chitty’s amendment to defer axing the trees pending further reports.

President Rayner said this month that if Main Roads WA “sign off on the proposed treatment (negotated with the shire) it would eliminate the need to remove the two trees”.

“Council has always been focused on public safety,” he said.

“When this work has been completed, council can reconsider any outstanding resolutions.”

President Rayner said WA Trasport Minister Rita Saffioti’s offer for rare discretionary road funding for Toodyay was “resulting from advocacy work by the Shire”.

It was not revealed until Mr Scott’s written recommendation to last month’s coucil meeting that the adverse finding against President Rayner and himself be overturned.

Most councillors knew nothing about the breach until Mr Scott raised it as ‘confidential business’ behind closed doors at last month’s council agenda briefing.

The breach occurred in last year’s April shire newsletter when Mr Scott used WA’s ‘R U OK?’ campaign slogan to publish: “I am not OK with the way that the good people of Toodyay who do not agree with the unprincipled campaign by The Herald and the TPA (Toodyay Progress Association) are bullied and harassed for having a different point of view.”

“I am not OK with the damage that is being done to my reputation in the Local Government Industry, a reputation which prior to this smear campaign was impeccable.”

Mr Scott said he was supported by the “majority of the people of Toodyay who don’t like the way this campaign looks and smells”.

‘Appalling’

SOME councillors later described Mr Scott’s article as “appalling” and said it should not have been published in a ratepayer-funded shire newsletter.

The Toodyay Progress Association made a formal complaint to the shire that President Rayner and Mr Scott breached clause 3.5 of the shire code of conduct – “Avoid Derogatory Statements”.

“We will not make any allegations that are derogatory or improper,” the code states.

“We will always act in the best interest of the shire and refrain from any type of communication in our public or professional duties which may cause any reasonable person unwarranted offence or embarrassment.

“When we are uncertain about the probable impact of our communications, we should seek access to legal advice.”

No legal advice

NEITHER Mr Scott nor President Rayner are understood to have sought legal advice before publishing the ‘R U OK’ article.

The complaint against them quoted the Oxford Dictionary definition of ‘derogatory’ as “showing a critical or disrespectful attitude”, and ‘improper’ as “not in accordance with accepted standards, especially of morality or honesty”.

The shire appointed Deputy Shire President Therese Chitty to investigate the complaint, which she upheld in August last year.

It sought remedial action that the “Shire of Toodyay unreservedly withdraws these statements and allegations; that it issues a formal and public apology to the TPA and further that the Shire President and CEO undergo remedial training”.

The code states that the council can impose penalties on staff members ranging from “warnings and other disciplinary action to instant dismissal”.

Penalties for elected members include “public censure, public apology and an order to undertake training”.

“Matters reported will be treated in the strictest confidence until appropriate action has been taken.”

No action taken

HOWEVER, no action was taken because the breach was not referred to the council, there was no apology and the offending article was still on the shire website earlier this month.

Most councillors didn’t know the code had been breached until Mr Scott’s report last month sought to have it overturned and asked the council to uphold “the right of the Shire President and the CEO to make reasoned factual responses to public criticism”.

President Rayner declared an “impartiality interest” because the complaint was against “myself and the CEO”, and Deputy President Chitty declared a similar interest because she conducted the investigation.

Both stayed in the chamber for the debate, which was held behind closed doors.

Mr Scott’s bid for the council to decide no breach had occurred was moved by Cr Judy Dow and seconded by Cr Paula Greenway.

However, Cr Ben Bell said the code of conduct did not allow the council to determine whether or not a breach had occurred, and the motion was lost 5-3 with only President Rayner and Crs Dow, and Greenway supporting Mr Scott’s recommendation.

The shire’s failure to apologise and withdraw the offending article has been referred to a formal State Government inquiry into the council which includes “the culture within the shire and any other matter that comes to its attention during the inquiry”.

President Rayner and Mr Scott did not respond to Herald requests for comment.

Project managers Camerson Chisholm Nichol told a shire public meeting at the Toodyay Sports Pavilion last month that the pool would most likely be finished in time for the start of the 2020 summer swim season.

The plan is to build the 25m swimming pool first, with support facilities for WA Education Department VacSwim classes, spa and shallow pool for parents with toddlers.

The sport and recreation precinct will also include a new rectangular playing field for hockey, soccer and rugby, new tennis, basketball and netball courts, change rooms and showers, club rooms and a commercial kitchen.

The project managers said their revised layout made better use of the site than last year’s initial plan.

Moving the club rooms and other support facilities to a more central location would enable players and spectators from different sports to have more community contact with each other.

Club football and cricket will continue to be played at the Toodyay Showgrounds.

It follows a shire call for submissions in which local electors were asked if they wanted to scrap ward boundaries and reduce the number of councillors from nine to seven.

The council voted last month to back public support for nine councillors after councillors said that number would enable the council to continue to reflect diverse community views.

However, the call for public submissions did not ask voters if they wanted the shire’s four councillors with four-year terms that don’t expire until 2021 to keep their jobs for another two years.

The four are Shire President Brian Rayner, Deputy President Therese Chitty and Crs Paula Greenway and Bill Manning.

Rayner didn’t have to face voters

President Rayner is the only current council member who did not have to face voters at the last shire election because nobody stood against him in his North Ward seat although a total of 11 candidates contested four seats in the shire’s other three wards.

The abolition of wards is expected to eliminate the election of councillors that nobody voted for because all voters will be able to vote for all candidates regardless of where they live.

Deputy President Chitty’s motion to abolish wards, keep nine councillors and allow four councillors – including herself – to serve out the balance of their four-year terms to 2021 was seconded by Cr Judy Dow.

Cr Chitty said it was important for the council to maintain stability rather than risk the election of nine new inexperienced councillors in October.

‘Disconcerting’

“I’m not trying to secure my position but if we had nine new people it could be quite disconcerting,” she said.

Cr Dow, whose four-year term expires in October, said “I wouldn’t like to see all councillors stand down”.

Cr Ben Bell questioned why ratepayers were not asked in the shire’s call for public submissions if they wanted the four councillors to stay on until 2021.

“We put two options to the community and came up with three answers,” he said.

“At no time was option two (retaining four councillors) put to the people.

“My understanding is that it was generated by the CEO (Stan Scott).

“Those four councillors have been voted for by only a quarter of the shire.

“If you’re confident you’re doing a good job, you’ll have no problems getting re-elected.”

In answer to Cr Bell’s question about what the shire asked for in public submissions, President Rayner said the option to retain four councillors (including himself) was not included.

“It was not put out to the public,” President Rayner said.

‘Lumped together’

CR BILL MANNING, whose four-year term expires in 2021, said the three parts of the question had been lumped together as one motion.

“I agree with abolishing wards and retaining nine councillors to provide a more diverse range of views,” he said.

“But what worries me is option two.

“I can see that it provides more stability but a more telling argument is that it should be up to the whole of the shire to decide who sits on council after the next election.”

Cr Manning said it didn’t seem right that the council should keep four councillors, including himself, for whom most people in the shire didn’t vote while five new councillors would be elected by everyone in the shire.

New CEO possible

Cr Eric Twine, whose four-year-term expires this year, said it would be a “shame” if a whole new council was elected in October with the shire’s new sports and recreation centre, a new roof for the Old Newcastle gaol “and who knows, a new CEO”.

“A whole new council is too great a risk,” Cr Twine said.

Cr Rob Welburn, whose four-year term also expires this year, said “the reason we don’t have full elections every four years is to maintain continuity”.

Cr Chitty’s motion to abolish wards, retain nine councillors and let four councillors remain until 2021 was carried 6-2, with Crs Bell and Manning against and Cr Craig Brook absent on leave.

The proposal has been sent to the Local Government Advisory Board for it to consider recommending that an order be issued by WA Local Government Minister David Templeman to abolish wards in the next October’s Toodyay Shire Council elections.

The public has the right to make submissions to the board before it makes a final recommendation.

The event included the swearing in of seven new Australian citizens, a ceremonial raising of the Australian flag by RSL members celebrating their 100th anniversary in Toodyay this year, community singing of the Advance Australia Fair national anthem, presentation of local Community Citizen of the Year Awards, popular music duo Chain Reaction and a water slide for kids and parents to cool off.

Toodyay Shire Community Development Officer Debra Andrijich was named Community Citizen of the Year, Toodyay Op Shop won the Community Citizen of the Year (Group) Award and Jeff Roberts was Senior Community Citizen of the Year.