Expenses remark sees councillor’s card marked

UNRULY Frankston Council meetings are becoming the norm rather than the exception in the lead up to council elections in October when councillors face the voters for re-election.

Cr Suzette Tayler was ordered out of the council chamber during last Monday evening’s monthly public council meeting amid arguments between councillors over business cards.

The latest public spat comes after last month’s public council meeting was cut short amid threats to expel Cr Tayler from the council chamber during a debate about rising costs to refurbish Wells St in central Frankston.

Frankston mayor Cr James Dooley ordered Cr Tayler from last week’s meeting after she made allegations of impropriety over councillor expenses.

“I think if you went through some of the councillors’ expenses you might find that there are councillors actually who have spent money that they shouldn’t have spent … for babysitting teenagers and things like that,” Cr Tayler said.

The mayor ruled Cr Tayler’s comments “objectionable” and expelled her from the chamber for 30 minutes.

Cr Tayler’s ejection from the meeting followed several warnings from the mayor, who chairs council meetings, during the public meeting for interrupting other councillors during debate.

Councillors were debating a notice of motion raised by Cr Darrel Taylor at the meeting to make councillors pay for business cards when Cr Tayler made her remarks.

The proposal to make councillors pay for business cards followed a heated debate at May’s council meeting over a request by Cr Taylor for council to supply him with his councillor business card template so he could supply the template to a printer and buy 5000 cards.

Cr Taylor, the federal election campaign manager for Liberal candidate for Dunkley Chris Crewther, wanted to use the 5000 cards to campaign against sky rail on the Frankston line but subsequently accepted advice from council CEO Dennis Hovenden that it would be more appropriate to use non-council contact information cards since council does not hold a formal policy position on elevated rail at this stage.

Councillors at last Monday’s meeting were arguing over paying for legal advice to determine whether forcing councillors to buy business cards at their own expense, as suggested by Cr Taylor, is “ultra vires” – beyond council’s power to enforce.

Cr Colin Hampton argued the Local Government Act states councillors “must be supplied with the tools he requires to be a councillor” and this includes business cards.

Cr Hampton, a Labor Party member, accused Cr Taylor of trying to deflect attention from scrutiny of his councillor expenses.

“I think it’s a very cynical move from a councillor who has come under heaps and heaps of pressure in the [news]papers lately for money that he’s spent well above what any other councillor has spent,” Cr Hampton said.

That comment by Cr Hampton saw Cr Tayler make her controversial remark about expenses that led to her being kicked out of the chamber.

After Cr Tayler left the meeting Crs Hampton, Dooley, Glenn Aitken, Brian Cunial, Sandra Mayer and Michael O’Reilly voted against the proposal to make councillors pay for business cards.

Cr Darrel Taylor voted for his motion while Cr Rebekah Spelman abstained. 

First published in the Frankston Times – 13 June 2016