ABOUT 70 Bassendean ratepayers were outraged after Mayor John Gangell dismissed three motions of no confidence in key council and staff members at last night’s special meeting of electors.
Bassendean resident Anthea Marshall collected a 103-signature petition for the meeting in a bid to address “transparency” issues and the conduct of community consultation processes.
Fellow resident Michael Grogan proposed a motion for council to censure deputy mayor Mike Lewis for contravening the Town’s code of conduct by engaging in unseemly conduct and making derogatory pronouncements while chairing two recent meetings.
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READ NOWMs Marshall then proposed a motion of no confidence in chief executive Bob Jarvis and Cr Gangell in light of continued transparency issues and failures to provide good governance in the accuracy of communication for residents.
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Cr Gangell said Mr Grogan’s motion was irrelevant to the meeting before denying the second motion.
This sparked Bassendean resident Peter Pearson to launch another motion of no confidence in Cr Gangell.
Cr Gangell said nothing could be done with the motions, which caused anger in the gallery.
Mr Grogan said ratepayers expected and demanded elected officials respect and adhere to a clause in the code of conduct, which stated councillors made no improper allegations that may cause embarrassment.
“Unfortunately there have been increasing instances of unpleasant behaviour that are inappropriate coming from elected members of our council,” he said.
In November, Bassendean ratepayers passed a motion of no confidence in Cr Gangell and Mr Jarvis at a general meeting of electors but no action was taken.