Kempsey Shire Council has voted to formally censure Mayor Leo Hauville following an investigation into allegations of bullying.
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The code of conduct complaint related to council staff and fellow councillor and former mayor, Liz Campbell, during the previous term of Council.
Cr Campbell, who was re-elected last December, has chosen not to contest this month's local government by-election.
An initial preliminary assessment of the complaint against Cr Hauville was conducted, followed by a formal investigation by an independent and external conduct reviewer.
Their report found that Cr Hauville had engaged in an "ongoing pattern of conduct".
The findings were discussed "in-confidence" at Tuesday's (June 28's) meeting, ahead of a vote on "an appropriate sanction".
Crs Hauville and Anthony Patterson were not present for the vote, while Cr Campbell did not attend the council meeting.
The remaining councillors voted unanimously for the censure.
'Improper and unethical'
While the vote was in private, the minutes detailing the bullying allegations and council's resolution have been released and are reproduced below:
That Council:
- acknowledge that this was a difficult time for former councillors, the former mayor and staff;
- formally censure Councillor Hauville in writing for misconduct as per Section 440G of the Local Government Act 1993, on the grounds identified as Findings 1 to 4 in the Report as detailed below:
Finding 1
Councillor Hauville engaged in an ongoing pattern of conduct which is likely to bring the Council or other Council officials, in particular Councillor Campbell, into disrepute contrary to clause 3.1(a) of the Kempsey Shire Council Code of Conduct by:
- at Council's meeting of 15 May 2018 moving a motion of no confidence in the then Mayor, Councillor Campbell, without basis;
- sending an email to the board members of the Country University Centre and alleging that some of those persons, along with members of Council, had failed to declare conflicts of interest;
- regularly and consistently engaging in the following types of conduct:
- a) repeated use of condescending and disrespectful language, as well as sarcastic and supercilious tone, in Council meetings, public forums and in emails to fellow Councillors;
- b) asking questions, in public forums, that appear designed to embarrass the organisation, or its staff, imply improper conduct by Council officers, or seem designed to "catch-out" people "doing the wrong thing"; and
- c) being openly critical of the staff in public forums, raising matters which could be more constructively addressed to the General Manager privately.
Finding 2
Councillor Hauville engaged in an ongoing pattern of conduct which is improper and unethical, in particular by continuing to raise issue with any use of the colloquial term "Macleay Valley", an issue which does not have the support of the governing body, contrary to clause 3.1(c) of the Kempsey Shire Council Code of Conduct by:
- continually and repeatedly raising issue with any use of the colloquial term "Macleay Valley" to describe the Kempsey region, despite being fully aware this issue does not have the support of fellow Councillors; and
- following the passing of a resolution at its April 2020 meeting to prevent the use of the term being further discussed, continuing to raise the issue, ignoring the resolution.
Finding 3 and 4
Councillor Hauville engaged in bullying of Councillor Campbell, contrary to clause 3.8 of the Kempsey Shire Council Code of Conduct (Finding 3) and Councillor Hauville has failed to meet his obligations in relation to meetings, contrary to clauses 3.19 and 3.20 of the Kempsey Shire Council Code of Conduct (Finding 4) by:
- continuing to bring points of dissent against the chair's ruling in meetings of Council with no support;
- speaking when not called to speak and continuing to speak when called to stop as well as arguing against the response given by the staff or fellow Councillors if it is contrary to his belief or position.
- frequently moving amendments to the minutes, seeking to include additional information or commentary. These proposed amendments are not shared by him prior to meetings, and he is said to portray delight in the surprise factor created by these amendments. This conduct is said to create a tone of antagonism, intimidation and conflict at the beginning of Council meetings which permeates for the remainder of the meeting, impacting their effective function.
- despite having the opportunity to ask questions of the General Manager between meetings at any time, he chooses to have numerous Questions on Notice at the end of each meeting. He has publicly stated the large number of Questions on Notice asked by him in meetings to be an achievement. The tone of these questions is said to be often more reflective of trying to "catch the GM and staff out" rather than to add value to Council deliberations and to assist ratepayers and the community. The often repeated questions or slight iteration of previous questions are time consuming and costly to administer.
- challenging the legitimacy of staff decisions and actions.
- commenting on, critiquing or debating the chair's rulings.
- often withdrawing items from the voting block for minor amendments that are either unnecessary or not supported by other Councillors, leading to a high level of frustration by his fellow Councillors.
- rarely, if ever, consulting with staff before making amendments to their recommendations or moving an alternative motion. Again, these are often varied, or withdrawn, following comment from the staff.
- frequently inferring that other Councillors have not read reports, attachments or minutes.
The adopted findings of the Code of Conduct Investigation are published in the minutes of the 28 June 2022 meeting. This matter does not impact the operations of council, the delivery of services or the engagement of staff and as such no further comment will be made.
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