FOUR Coffs Harbour councillors are facing disciplinary action after being found to have engaged in misconduct by the Office of Local Government (OLG).

Councillors Paul Amos, John Arkan, Keith Rhoades and Tegan Swan have had payment of their fees suspended for two months by OLG Coordinator General Kiersten Fishburn.

The four councillors breached the code of conduct by failing to attend two official meetings which deprived the council of a quorum resulting in consideration of important business not being able to proceed.

The meetings were due to consider a rescission motion in relation to a development proposal for a Cultural and Civic Space in the Coffs Harbour CBD which was eventually lost on the casting vote of Mayor Denise Knight at a subsequent council meeting.

At an Ordinary Meeting of Coffs Harbour City Council held on 25 July 2019, a motion was made to rescind the resolution for the Progression of the Cultural and Civic Space Project, which was passed at Council’s 11 July 2019 meeting.

There were four speakers for the motion and four speakers against the motion.

At the conclusion of the final speaker against the rescission motion, Councillors Rhoades, Swan, Arkan and Amos left the meeting, the time being 6.29pm.

At this point, the Mayor adjourned the meeting for 30 minutes due to lack of quorum.

At 7.00pm the meeting was reconvened with Crs Knight, Townley, Cecato and Adendorff in attendance.

Due to a lack of quorum, the Mayor advised that the meeting would be reconvened at 11am Friday 26 July 2019.

At 11.00am on 26 July 2019, the meeting was reconvened with Crs Knight, Cecato, Adendorff and Townley in attendance.

The Mayor asked if there was a quorum and if there were any apologies. There was no quorum and no apologies given.

Council minutes note that Councillors Amos, Rhoades, Swan and Arkan were observed standing in the foyer, and the meeting was adjourned for 30 minutes.

At 11.31am the meeting was reconvened with Crs Knight, Townley, Cecato and Adendorff in attendance.

The four absent Councillors were observed to still be standing in the foyer.

Due to a lack of quorum, the Mayor advised that the meeting would be reconvened at 5pm Thursday 8 August 2019.

At 5.00pm on 8 August 2019, the meeting was reconvened with Crs Knight, Adendorff, Amos, Arkan, Cecato, Rhoades, Swan, Townley in attendance.

At the 8 August meeting, the Rescission Motion was finally voted on, with Councillors Amos, Arkan, Rhoades and Swan voting for the motion and Councillors Knight, Adendorff, Cecato and Townley voting against.

Being a tied vote, the Mayor used her casting vote and the Rescission Motion declared lost.

In the statements of reasons, Ms Fishburn described the conduct of the four Councillors as “premeditated” and “deliberate”.

“[The conduct] is improper and unethical and inconsistent with the duties and obligations expected of an elected representative,” Ms Fishburn stated.

“Council has incurred both productivity loss and economic loss as a result of [the] actions.

“The penalty reflects this economic loss.”

Ms Fishburn said it serves as a warning to all councillors in NSW not to engage in conduct intended to prevent the proper or effective functioning of their council.

“The local community is entitled to expect the highest standards of leadership and conduct from its elected representatives,” she said.

“Council meetings are a vital democratic function where councillors deliberate upon and determine important matters on behalf of the community.

“While I acknowledge the community and councillors can rightfully become emotive and passionate about issues, denying an official council meeting of a quorum does not serve anybody’s best interests.

“While the council is denied a quorum at meetings, all business on the agenda is in limbo and no formal decisions can be made on behalf of the community.

“Councillors were elected by the local community to do a job and that’s exactly what local residents expect them to do.”

The statements of reasons can be found on the OLG website at https://www.olg.nsw.gov.au/councils/misconduct-and-intervention/councillor-misconduct/deputy-secretary-decisions-orders-and-statements-of-reasons/.