Mitcham Mayor Glenn Spear resigns from LGA board as it plans to triple its own board member allowances

MAYOR Glenn Spear has resigned from the board of the Local Government Association in light of news it wants to triple board allowances, saying his position is “untenable”.

• Glenn Spear says councils need to forget politics and stick to basics
• LGA wants to triple its board member allowances
• More than $170,000 of ratepayer money spent by LGA opposing rate capping

MITCHAM Mayor Glenn Spear has resigned from the board of the Local Government Association because he says his position is “untenable”.

Mr Spear this morning wrote to LGA president Lorraine Rosenberg and acting chief executive Lisa Teburea to tender his resignation in light of news board members could have their allowances significantly increased.

Mr Spear, who has served two terms on the LGA board, told The Advertiser he had to step down because its values no longer aligned with his.

“Given I’m a mayor that’s proposing efficiencies in local government, to then have this sort of headline makes my position untenable,” Mr Spear said.

Mitcham Mayor Glenn Spear. Picture: Keryn Stevens

He said he was shocked by the LGA’s lack of “commercial sensibilities” and was “very concerned” when the pay increase was proposed at its last board meeting.

“It was obscure and I thought it was a stupid time to be proposing the possibility of such increases,” he said.

“I was shocked that at the time that we’re debating a position on rate capping, such a thing would become public knowledge and they’d be talking about it.”

He felt uncomfortable with “some of the decision making of the LGA” and he believed it had not handled “various adverse publicity well”.

He also said the LGA’s campaign against rate capping, which cost ratepayers nearly $200,000, had also contributed to his decision to resign.

“I think the anti rate-capping campaign was poor and I think they have persisted with this now … and they should have taken a more positive approach now the government was elected with a mandate,” he said.

Ms Rosenberg thanked Mr Spear for his service – but questioned his motives.

“It is disappointing that he has chosen to resign over the review of LGA board member fees, considering that he voted to support the adoption of the LGA’s 2018/19 budget and provision for a future increase in board fees at our May board meeting,” Ms Rosenberg said.

It seems odd that Mr Spear feels so strongly about future board fee increases that he has decided to resign, yet didn’t use his vote in the meeting to oppose the budget allocation for these increases.”

Earlier today, The Advertiser revealed the LGA wanted to triple the ratepayer-funded allowances of its board members, at the same time as dodging its payroll tax bill.

The association is investigating spending as much as $240,000 a year on board member fees, up from $76,000.