Councillor to apologise for belittling resident’s spelling and education on Facebook

A VETERAN councillor will be forced to apologise and undergo media training after she was found guilty of not acting in a way that generates community trust and confidence.

Salisbury councillor Betty Gill. Picture: Roger Wyman

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A VETERAN Salisbury councillor will be forced to apologise and undergo media training after she was found guilty of belittling a resident’s education and spelling on a Facebook page.

Cr Betty Gill was found guilty of breaching three codes of conduct following an investigation by independent lawyers Minter Ellison into her behaviour on the private Facebook group called Salisbury Council Area – Residents, Ratepayers and Community Forum.

A report, which had its confidentiality lifted last week, showed that on August 13 Cr Gill had “belittled” a resident and suggested that the “spelling capabilities of the resident indicated a problem with education”.

She was found guilty of not acting in a way that generates community trust and confidence, not acting in a respectful manner and not showing respect for others when making public comments.

The incident occurred during a discussion by the group about the proposed $43 million community hub, which was out for public consultation at the time.

The post had been deleted from the page when the Northern Weekly searched forit last week.

Cr Gill has been on the council for 28 years.

She is also the vice-president of the Australian Local Government Women’s Association.

Salisbury Mayor Gillian Aldridge was disappointed by the councillor’s behaviour.

“It is a very sad situation and I’m really sad that it happened, but Cr Gill has been an excellent councillor for 28 years and she has dedicated herself to the community,” Ms Aldridge said.

“Moving on into the future she will be more aware.”

Cr Gill said she accepted the investigation’s findings.

She did not realise the confidentiality lifted had been lifted when contacted by the Northern Weekly.

The resident did not respond by the Northern Weekly deadline.