Hume City Council: suspended councillor Trevor Dance ‘needs psychological help’ lawyer claims

Having cost ratepayers tens of thousands of dollars in costly arbitrations, one ‘mentally ill’ councillor has found himself suddenly suspended.

Hume City councillor Trevor Dance has been suspended for three months. Picture: Hume City Council

A northern suburbs councillor who cost ratepayers’ $53,000 in “vendetta” arbitration proceedings has been suspended for three months, despite his lawyer insisting he is too mentally ill to attend his own hearing.

Hume City councillor Trevor Dance was found to have made a “serious” breach of his councillor code of conduct by refusing to attend a complaints hearing against colleague Jack Medcraft in June last year, despite being the applicant of the case.

The decision, which was released by the council on Monday, said that Mr Dance instructed his lawyer to tell the panel that he was “in need of psychological help” and was therefore unable to attend proceedings.

Mr Dance has made 11 complaints against Hume councillors since his election in November 2020, one of which was successful, at an average cost of just under $5,000, according to the council.

The subject of June’s arbitration was to be allegedly “false” statements made by Mr Medcraft over the monitoring of a rubbish tip in the city’s municipality.

Prior to June’s arbitration, Mr Dance’s lawyer told the panel that his client was “mentally ill” and needed “psychological help,” and as such was unable to attend.

He also said that Mr Dance was too afraid to be in the physical presence of Mr Medcraft.

On Wednesday, Mr Medcraft told Leader that Mr Dance “wants to destroy the council”.

At a meeting on Monday night, Mr Medcraft successfully moved a motion that would reveal the full cost of Mr Dance’s repeated complaints and arbitrations.

He said he expected it to be “close” to $150,000 once staff time and costs are considered.

The council have been contacted for comment, while Mr Dance was unable to be reached.