"TEMPERS have flared at Brighton Council resulting in the walkout of an elected member from a January council meeting to contact his lawyer and Tasmania Police.
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Brighton’s newest councillor Keith Higgins left the January 17 meeting part way through a closed committee session and has confirmed he intends to pursue legal action over the incident.
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Cr Higgins said he had been accused of stalking a council staff member, but denied he had ever seen the particular staff member outside of council offices.
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“I’m ropeable ... I intend to sue over this,” he said. “I’ve got no idea whether they’re trying to frame me ... I’m terrified.”
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Cr Higgins said he was unable to disclose further details of the incident due to its consideration in closed council, but confirmed he had contacted his lawyer and police following the incident.
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Brighton Mayor Tony Foster confirmed there was an incident over a “staff-related issue”, but could not provide further details.
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Cr Foster said Cr Higgins should apologise to his fellow councillors at the next council meeting.
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In a separate incident, documents obtained by the Mercury reveal that lawyers for fellow councillor Wayne Garlick wrote to Cr Higgins in November alleging Cr Higgins had made false and defamatory statements about Cr Garlick to community members.
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“We are instructed by our client to indicate that if you repeat these allegations whether verbally and/or in writing at any time in the future, that our client will institute proceedings against you to ensure that this course of inappropriate conduct is stopped,” they wrote.
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Cr Higgins said his lawyer was dealing with the letter and did not want to comment further.
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In an earlier incident, Brighton general manager Ron Sanderson lodged a code of conduct complaint against Cr Higgins for conduct in the days leading up to his swearing in as a councillor on November 3 last year.
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Cr Higgins is being investigated for allegedly claiming to be a councillor and ordering a road crew to pick up broken glass on November 1, and for specific comments allegedly made about a council employee.
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The complaint also alleges that he declared himself to be a councillor at the Brighton Council works depot, Pete’s Shed in Bridgewater, and the Jordan River Services Neighbourhood House in Herdsmans Cove before being sworn in.
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Cr Higgins denied the interactions took place the way they were alleged to have occurred in the complaint.
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“I haven’t ordered anyone to do anything in my life,” he said.
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Cr Higgins said he was grateful to the community for their support since he was elected.
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Cr Higgins was elected on a recount in October to fill the vacancy created by the death of councillor Geoff Taylor."
EDITOR'S NOTE: This appears to be evidence of some kind of unfortunate dysfunctionalism in yet another council and between the elected representatives and the functionaries. Brighton Council has been a shinning light in a bleak environment where increasingly ratepayers are are being sidelined and where the bureaucratic tail is increasingly wagging the dog – the ratepayers' representatives.
This particular news is very concerning and clearly there have been issues that have led up to this news item. It hasn't evolved out of a vacuum and the atmosphere local government is operating in is increasingly becoming a worry. It appears that dysfunctionalism in one place infects other operations.
The thing that seems to be missing is any inclination to be accountable in too many council areas. In fact in some, the accountability imperative looks as if it is more and more a discretionary matter. Likewise, as time goes on and standards are gradually by-passed and it goes unnoticed there something more to worry about.
It is past the time that the Minister should have addressed himself to the standards in operation in Local Government in Tasmania. He needs to do so to ensure that ratepayers are getting the services they are paying for and in full measure.
Tanda Vale Feb 2017
