The mayor is set to replace Logan City Council’s CEO as the investigator of councillor conduct complaints, despite some councillors expressing concerns over potential conflicts and poor optics.
The city solicitor last week introduced an updated councillor conduct investigation policy, which had not been reviewed since 2020.
Included in the draft policy, which was endorsed by the council, were alterations and additions designed to speed up and cut the cost of investigations into suspected conduct breaches, which can be tens of thousands of dollars.
One of those recommendations was to make the mayor, currently Jon Raven, lead the investigations in order to ensure “trust and confidence” in the process.
The mayors of multiple neighbouring local governments, including at the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Moreton Bay, lead their council’s conduct investigations.
At Logan, council chief Darren Scott heads investigations.
Cr Tony Hall expressed concern about how the change would be perceived by the community, while other councillors were worried about potential personal biases between a mayor and councillor under investigation.
“[The change] protects the investigator from any allegations of bias,” the city solicitor told councillors at a committee meeting last week.
“It is a very different power balance between a CEO and councillors, and councillors and the mayor.”
The solicitor said the key difference was that councillors could dismiss a CEO if they were unhappy with the results of an investigation. However, councillors have no power to dismiss the mayor.
“That is a matter for the community,” the solicitor said.
Additionally, she said the “critical parts of the process” would be made by the council.
“[The investigator] can never be the person who is given the authority to decide whether or not there has been a conduct breach and what the orders are.
“That is always going to come back to [councillors].
“The state has, quite meanly maybe, set it up such that you are the judges of one another in relation to those conduct issues and we can’t change that part.”
The mayor accepted the responsibility, claiming “the concern to protect the CEO is valid”.
“If a majority of councillors get an investigation that they don’t appreciate, they can fire the person who is the investigator. That is not a good situation for the CEO to be in.
“It might prejudice a future CEO’s behaviour.”
Other changes accepted by the council mean councillors under investigation will be required to participate in the investigation in “good faith” and respond to reasonable requests for information, interviews, or documentation in a “timely manner”.
Cr Raven said this would stop councillors prolonging investigations, helping save ratepayers money – with two recent investigations costing a combined $45,000.
A councillor’s conduct is a breach if it contravenes: a behavioural standard; a policy, procedure or resolution; an order of the chairperson of a meeting to leave and stay away from the meeting; or three or more unsuitable meeting conduct orders within one year.
The policy does not cover “serious” matters such as corruption or misconduct. Those complaints are dealt with by the Office of the Independent Assessor.
