Mayor slams councillors concerned about climbing legal costs

Tweed Shire Council has forked out more than $4.5 million on legal costs since 2013, prompting a frustrated outcry from some councillors.

TWEED Shire Council has forked out more than $4.5 million on legal costs since 2013 - including almost $1.5m for the past year - prompting an outcry from some councillors.

But Mayor Katie Milne and Deputy Mayor Chris Cherry rubbished suggestions the council was wasting ratepayer’s money contesting unwinnable cases.

Crs Warren Polglase and James Owen have raised concerns at the bill but Cr Milne has dubbed them “sore loser, minority councillors” and said the Tweed must not be “a hot bed for dodgy developments”.

In total, $4,565,203 was spent on legal costs since the 2013-14 financial year, with the highest spend in 2017-18, when costs ballooned to $1,499,992.

In 2018/19 to date, the council legal bill is approaching $1 million, sitting at $939,601.

It is well above the $480,000 council budgets annually for legal costs but “adjustments are made if required”.

In recent years, the council has been split 4-3 and the so-called Rainbow Four – councillors Milne, Cherry, Reece Byrnes and Ron Cooper – often prove victorious over councillors Pryce Allsop, Owen and veteran Polglase.

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The current Tweed Shire Council: Reece Byrnes, Ron Cooper, Deputy Mayor Chris Cherry, Mayor Katie Milne, James Owen, Warren Polglase and Pryce Allsop.

Cr Polglase said the council had “lost the plot on sensible outcomes via negotiation”.

“It’s very unusual. I’ve been involved with the Tweed shire for quite a number of years and this is the most I’ve seen spent on legal costs before, in my four or five terms in council,” he said.

“The thing is, what council is lacking is the ability to negotiate outcomes. You get the same outcome from negotiation without going to court. I think that’s an issue where we’ve lost the plot.

“The council has three political parties represented in council. Labor, the Greens and Liberal. I think there’s been some decisions made more on political lines.”

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Cr Owen: “We’re sending stuff to the Land and Environment Court against really strong advice from our officers.

“It’s councillors that are thinking they’re the experts. I just don’t know how these people think they know better than planners, legal experts that say we shouldn’t do this,” he said.

Cr Owen said the council split meant “everything’s decided” before voting.

“There’s no opportunity to debate things in the chamber. We just know which way the issue is going to go. No real opportunity to work with other groups of councillors on things which are good for the community,” he said.

Mayor Katie Milne at a Tweed Shire Council meeting. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

However, Cr Milne said a “reality check” was needed and Crs Owen and Polglase “should be ashamed of themselves for denigrating this council and our staff that are busting their guts”.

“Applications are at all-time highs and developers are snapping up land at enormous prices,” she said.

“There were nine courts cases last financial year. Three cases were lost from councillor initiated refusals, three were lost following staff recommended refusals, and three were lost by developers.

“All in all it cost $297,000 for the cases resulting solely from the four community-based councillors. That equates to around $3 per resident or about 0.1 per cent of council’s budget.

“An easy way not to lose any court cases would be to approve everything and forget about defending our community and environment, like the Polglase-run council that was sacked in 2005.”

Cr Cherry said the council was acting in the interest of the community and “those who cannot speak up for themselves”.

“There are a myriad of laws put in place to protect our community and our environment and when council acts to refuse a development it is because in their view, it contravenes these laws and impacts on someone in our community,” she said.

Mayor Katie Milne said the council was involved in nine court cases last financial year.

“Yes, it costs money and in a perfect world we would not have legal costs at all, as all developers would simply respect our laws and regulations and everyone would just naturally do the right thing.”

The council stated of the 2017/18 legal costs more than $500,000 was spent on cases initiated by the previous council, or defending their decisions.

Legal Costs Over Five Years

• 2017/18: $1,499,992

• 2016/17: $936,956

• 2015/16: $547,143

• 2014/15: $553,706

• 2013/14: $1,027,406

TOTAL: $4,565,203