Serial complainant Carlo Meschino given chance to make submission to Charles Sturt Council on his ban
He was banned from complaining to his council after he cost it $160,000 and lodged dozens of spurious claims. Now the council is reviewing his ban.
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- Carlo Meschino lodges more than $160,000 worth of FOI requests
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A man who sent $160,000 worth of Freedom of Information requests to Charles Sturt Council – and was later blocked from making complaints – has been given the chance to have his ban lifted.
Carlo Meschino, of Albert Park, has 21 days to make a submission to the council as to why it should again take his complaints seriously.
Charles Sturt last year decided to disregard Mr Meschino’s continual contact with the council under its “unreasonable customer complaint procedure”.
The ban was due to his “persistence, demands, arguments and behaviour as well as displaying an unreasonable lack of co-operation”, the council said.
The council is required to review the decision every 12 months.
Council staff have recommended the ban continue.
Despite last year’s ruling, Mr Meschino had since made 13 complaints to the council, mostly related to a business near his home he claimed was operating outside of approved hours.
Council officers did visit the business five times, but never found any evidence of wrongdoing.
Cr Tolley Wasylenko – who had been personally targeted by Mr Meschino – said there was “a point where ratepayers’ interests come first”.
“Based on the evidence provided, and the conditions that were set, all I can say is that I would take the advice of the staff,” Cr Wasylenko said.
“Every time (council staff) go and investigate a complaint and there’s no such thing, you have to come to a conclusion.
“Give him a chance to explain why (the ban should be lifted), but he hasn’t demonstrated it.”
Ombudsman Wayne Lines last year blasted Mr Meschino for his “abuse” of the FOI system after Charles Sturt spent more than $160,000 and 2200 staff hours collating more than 7000 pages of documents to answer his 31 requests.
Many of the documents had already been provided, or had originally been sent by Mr Meschino himself.
He also lodged 15 code of conduct complaints against elected members, including Cr Wasylenko and the council’s chief executive, Paul Sutton.
Mr Meschino cited the complaints as a reason people should not vote for Cr Wasylenko when he ran against him at the 2018 council elections.
Five complaints were also made under Section 270 of the Local Government Act, which related to improper decisions – all of which were dismissed.
The Messenger has attempted to contact Mr Meschino.