Why the last council meeting of this term was cancelled

COUNCILLORS have been asked to explain why a final extraordinary meeting of the current term was cancelled.

Port Macquarie-Hastings council had scheduled a meeting for noon today to consider sending part of the draft annual financial statements for audit.

However, Mayor Peta Pinson and councillors Adam Roberts, Danielle Maltman and Josh Slade indicated they would not be attending, meaning quorum could not be reached.

Council staff will now submit the returns for audit.

The meeting was to be held during business hours and while councillors were still in office, albeit in caretaker mode until the September 14 elections.

In response to concerns about the cost, News Of The Area has asked the Council for a figure.

He was unable to provide one.

The cancellation prompted five of the councillors seeking re-election to issue statements explaining their concerns and position.

These are reproduced below in the order in which they were received.

Joint statement: Crs Rachel Sheppard, Nik Lipovac, Lauren Edwards and Lisa Intemann.

The four of us are writing in our own names as advisors, not on behalf of the Council.

The extraordinary meeting of the Council on September 6 had been scheduled more than a month ago, with the only item on the agenda being to enable the elected body to carry out its task of reviewing and submitting the financial statements for audit.

A quorum (five councillors) was confirmed a few weeks ago, with seven councillors agreeing to attend in person or (via) remote attendance.

The mayor apologized.

To our knowledge, no concerns have been expressed in recent weeks regarding a possible absence of advisers.

(On) September 2, the Council confirmed by email to all Councillors that a Council meeting can only be conducted remotely in the event of an emergency (Article 5.16 of the Code of Ethics for Meetings), which was not the case here.

The extraordinary meeting was therefore to be held in person, but councillors retained the option of attending the meeting remotely.

At 10:30 a.m. (Monday), the Council informed the councillors that there was no quorum and the extraordinary meeting was cancelled.

We, the four non-aligned Councillors, Councillors Edwards, Intemann, Lipovac and Sheppard, remain available to attend the meeting in person or remotely.

Only one other councilor was missing to reach quorum. It is not clear why the three councilors from the Pinson team did not become available without notice.

This unexplained absence of the Pinson team advisors prevents the Council from fully and properly examining the year-end financial statements.

We are concerned and disappointed that the elected Council has been prevented from properly assuming its financial responsibilities and oversight of the Council.

Statement from Councillor Adam Roberts

A special meeting of Port Macquarie-Hastings council was scheduled for Friday, September 6, on a single item at the Burrawan Street chambers.

It has emerged that there is an inconsistency between councils in New South Wales in how they deal with this issue of holding a special meeting for a single item.

Mr Pinson, Mr Slade, Mr Maltman and Mr Roberts hoped that the meeting could be held online to avoid the unnecessary expense of a full House meeting for a single item, which was simply to refer a financial report to audit.

As some councillors wanted to hold the meeting in the room instead, which would entail significant costs, the quorum could not be reached and the meeting will not take place.

It is believed that some boards across the state, through their staff, simply forward the financial report directly to auditors without a board resolution, likely to save taxpayers money or to have the opportunity to take a more sensible approach to the issue.

The Port Macquarie-Hastings council CEO is expected to submit the financial report for audit now that no meetings will be held.

Holding a council meeting during a transition period, just one day before voting opens, when councillors and candidates are at the end of their campaigns, makes no sense on several levels.

The financial report will be subject to audit with or without a resolution of the board.

With the meeting cancelled, we can now save unnecessary costs and limit any grandiloquence or unruly behaviour that might arise if a meeting were to take place.

By Sue STEPHENSON