LAWYERS paid ratepayers’ money to investigate and arbitrate internal disputes between Frankston councillors have expressed concerns over “considerable expense for council” when ruling on unsubstantiated code of conduct complaints.
Ratepayers will foot the bill running to tens of thousands of dollars for at least three arbitration sittings in the past two months (“Costly conduct for ratepayers”, The Times 5/9/16).
Council CEO Dennis Hovenden and mayor Cr James Dooley refuse to give specific or ballpark figures for the legal fees.
“Council is unable to comment on these matters as they remain confidential,” Cr Dooley, council’s official spokesman as mayor, said in a statement last week.
“To do so would breach the Local Government Act and the investigation process.”
The Times can reveal that legal representatives found complaints by Cr Glenn Aitken against Cr Darrel Taylor and Cr Rebekah Spelman over comments made to the press about a $3.5 million Wells St revamp that rose to $4.9 million were without merit.
A separate complaint by Cr Dooley against Cr Taylor about email correspondence was also dismissed by an independent arbitrator paid to investigate and make a code of conduct ruling.
Crs Suzette Tayler and Darrel Taylor were found to have breached council’s code of conduct by a legal representative brought in by council in a third arbitration hearing over some comments made on Facebook.
The pair said they were unable to comment on specific investigations when contacted.
Cr Darrel Taylor said in arbitration hearings that he believed complaints against him by Cr Dooley and Cr Aitken were “retaliation” for speaking out about the behaviour of “aligned fellow councillor” and deputy mayor Colin Hampton at a public function at The Deck bar in Frankston late last year.
In June, Cr Hampton was found by an independent panel, convened by the Municipal Association of Victoria, to have breached code of conduct clauses in the Local Government Act over the way he “aggressively” spoke to two council employees in public at The Deck.
Cr Dooley’s subsequent complaint about Cr Taylor related to an email Cr Taylor sent to the mayor and all other Frankston councillors about Cr Dooley, as mayor and chair of public council meetings, allowing his notice of motion at June’s public council meeting about auditing Wells St costs to be amended by Cr Aitken to include audits on other major projects in Frankston (“Street spending under scrutiny”, The Times 14/6/16).
The independent arbitrator found Cr Taylor had not breached council’s code of conduct in the wording of his email to the mayor.
Cr Dooley said he could not comment last week, citing Local Government Act restrictions and the investigation process.
Cr Aitken said he was unable to comment when contacted about his complaint against Crs Taylor and Spelman.
Cr Spelman also could not comment.
Councillors may vote to make the conduct code investigations and outcomes public at this month’s public council meeting due to be held on Monday 19 September.
