14 March (Part 1) - Mayor approves disrespect to residents by councillors. It’s official policy
The following formal question was sent to the council for their next meeting by a resident…
“At the last two full Council Meetings I have noticed that a
number of Councillors have turned up for the meeting in a slovenly and unkempt
manner. The general demeanour of some Members towards members of the
public asking questions is also disrespectful. Can the Leader therefore
introduce a dress code for all Members befitting the importance of a full
Council Meeting and also remind all Members of the Council that they are Public
Servants, paid from the public purse and therefore have a public duty to act
with decorum and professionalism when engaged on public duties.”
Given the mayor’s irrational behaviour to the public recently, choosing to write to them at
home for “parsimonious appreciation” and the like the reply was not
unexpected… “The Mayor has ruled this question out of order as vexatious
and it will therefore not go forward to the next Council meeting.”
So it’s official then. Councillors are encouraged to not answer questions posed
by members of the public, laugh at them, ridicule them, cut their question time
short and offend their ears with the
cry of “tosser”. We should have expected nothing less from a mayor so
disrespectful of residents and council procedures. Labelling something vexatious
is the last refuge of a council scoundrel - with apologies to Samuel Johnson.