'Do your job': Councillor calls on everyone to go to meeting

THREE Lismore councillors have teamed up in a renewed push to clear a backlog of important matters before the February meeting.

Lismore mayor Isaac Smith was disappointed the majority of councillors did not attend a special meeting to debate unresolved issues. Picture: Claudia Jambor

Update 4pm: THREE councillors have moved to debate 20 agenda items before the February meeting.

Councillors Gianpiero Battista, Bill Moorhouse and Mayor Isaac Smith have lodged a rescission motion to tackle unresolved matters as soon as possible instead of deferring them until council returns in February.

The Larkin Lane Wastewater Project and the council's Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy 2018-2023 would be among those matters to be debated it the rescission motion is carried.

It would be one of five rescission motions to be debated at tomorrow night's meeting if councillors can form a quorum for the meeting to proceed.

Yesterday's scheduled meeting was cancelled as the council were unable to establish a quorum.

Mayor Isaac Smith clarified all councillors were informed of the meeting last Thursday, quashing speculation that councillors weren't given sufficient notice.

Cr Neil Marks, one of the councillors who requested the extraordinary meeting, encouraged all councillors to do their utmost to make the meeting, whether they were on leave or not. 

He recalled that during his years as a councillor he has attended council meetings while on leave and at times cut holidays short to debate important issues.

"I'd like to think councillors would like to do their job," Cr Marks said.

"I just wish we could get on with the job."

He said the rescission motions, namely those on the ski jump and Square expansion, have stalled council staff's ability to complete necessary reports to table at the council by February.
 

Original story 12.25pm: A MAJORITY of councillors failed to attend a special Lismore City Council meeting last night to clear a backlog of unresolved issues from last week's meeting.

Despite five of the 11 councillors in attendance, the extraordinary meeting was cancelled after it was a councillor short of forming a quorum.

Cr Vanessa Ekins, who does not begin leave until Thursday, sent her apologies for being unable to attend. The Northern Star has tried to reach Cr Ekins for comment.

The extraordinary meeting was pushed back until Wednesday in a last ditch effort to address unsettled business by the end of the year, with January 9 set as a back up date.

Councillors Gianpiero Battista and Neil Marks requested the special meeting after councillors prematurely ended what was a mammoth ordinary meeting last week that left many issues unresolved.

Cr Battista said councillors should work to avoid "an enormous backlog" that would burden the council its February meeting, which he said already contained 12 items.

While he recognised that councillors were taking approved leave over Christmas, Lismore Mayor Isaac Smith said it was a shame some councillors were unable to fulfil their paid duty to the community to front the meeting.

"Our community put us in place to make decisions, not delay decisions," he said.

Four rescission motions were also lodged at the end of last week's ordinary council meeting, two of which Cr Smith labelled as a "delaying tactic" with councillors voting conclusively on both issues.

He said the rescission motions against decisions to hold an additional 20 races at the Lismore Greyhounds and a workshop to discuss the Square expansion were "poorly used" council processes.

On the other hand, Cr Smith said there was legitimate reason to discuss rescission motions regarding the the ski jump and business rate variation as Cr Smith, as mayor, had the casting vote to finalise those decisions.

Cr Darlene Cook shared in Cr Smith's disappointment about Monday's failed meeting while Cr Moorhouse doubted Wednesday's meeting would proceed and accused some councillors of "playing games" with important matters.

But Cr Nancy Casson, who said she was on leave with a trip to the US planned, questioned the urgency of addressing the four rescission motions as well as other matters, which she said all could be dealt with appropriately at the February meeting.

She called the extraordinary meeting "underhanded" and criticised what she interpreted as its intent to decide on matters when the majority of councillors were on leave.

Cr Smith said the extraordinary meeting wasn't underhanded but part of practice outlined in the Local Government Act to expedite council decision-making.

"We have to do what we can to resolve issues as quickly as possible," he said.

All 11 councillors were contacted for comment by The Northern Star.