Robe Deputy Mayor Nick Brown acted outside his role during lease contract negotiations with aero club, Ombudsman finds

The Robe deputy mayor acted outside of his role while negotiating a lease deal, the state Ombudsman has found – but he says he was acting in council’s “best interest”.

Robe Council deputy mayor Nick Brown acted outside of his role when he entered into contract negotiations with the local aero club, the state Ombudsman has found.

Mr Brown entered into direct discussions and meetings with the club officials, drafting amendments to a lease and providing it to the club prior to seeking council approval.

Ombudsman Emily Strickland investigated the claims after a report the actions had undermined the council’s administration in progressing a lease arrangement approved by the previous council.

In a statement published last week, Ms Strickland found Mayor Lisa Ruffell could have done more to assist Mr Brown to understand the limits of his role as an elected member.

She also found elected members failed to follow meeting procedures with club officials in relation to a January 2023 meeting and personal email addresses were used for council-related business, in contravention of legislative requirements.

Ms Ruffell and Mr Brown both made public statements regarding the Ombudsman’s report at the May council meeting, which were recorded in the meeting’s minutes.

Robe deputy mayor Nick Brown.

Robe Mayor Lisa Ruffell

Mr Brown, who was briefly deputy chief executive of the council in 2019, told the meeting he “believed he was acting in council’s best interest” to resolve the lease issue.

He acknowledged he had erred by entering into discussions with the club, not including the meetings in his elected member council report and by using his private email for council business.

“My actions were in error and I undertake to avoid similar conduct in the future,” the council minutes showed. “I will repeat, I believe I acted in council’s best interest to attempt to resolve the lease issue and protect council from potential future legal expenses.”

Ms Ruffell acknowledged the “abnormalities” taken by elected members during lease negotiations, specifically Mr Brown’s actions.

“As the Mayor, I must also take responsibility for the situation at hand,” the council minutes showed.

“I acknowledge this shortcoming and take full responsibility for it.

“I would like to assure the community that we are fully dedicated to resolving these matters and learning from this experience.”

The ombudsman found the statements acknowledged the errors and undertook to avoid such errors in the future. Ms Strickland concluded the matter was “satisfactorily resolved”.