This article was originally published in print in the Swan Hill Guardian on August 7, 2019.
ABOUT 30 complaints against staff were made to Balranald Shire Council’s union early last year, according to general manager Michael Kitzelmann.
Appointed to Balranald Shire Council in March last year, the general manager was called as a witness of the NSW Office of Local Government public inquiry into Balranald Shire Council last Thursday.
Councillors Trevor Jolliffe, Jo Roberts and Jeff Mannix also spoke on the day.
“Upon arriving I was shocked at the level of the culture in council and the morale in council,” Mr Kitzelmann told commissioner Roslyn McCulloch.
“I had several staff members who wished to sit down and talk with me and they expressed the concerns they had.
“I was made aware of 30 complaints which had been made to the union by staff members around bullying and harassment, staff reportedly having things thrown at them, being yelled out.”
Mr Kitzelmann said there were further conflicts between customer service staff and executive assistants with a few councillors, particularly Stephen O’Halloran.
“I’d just like to emphasise that the behaviour of one councillor can be quite distracting to an organisation and I’m very cognisant of the fact that we don’t want this to look like it’s an approach directly at one councillor,” he said.
Mr Kitzelmann supported Balranald Shire Council director of infrastructure and development Ray Davy that councillors were reluctant to speak at council meetings, particularly junior councillors Jo Roberts and Doug Allen.
Cr Roberts told the commissioner she abstained from speaking at council meetings because others talked over her.
“I am not respected and when I do choose to talk, and I will talk about things I’m passionate about, I could look around and there will be several councillors with their heads down writing and they’re not listening,” she said.
“So, unless it’s something I’m really passionate about I’ll speak up or if I think something needs saying I certainly will.
“I don’t believe there’s a lot of not protection, but obviously there is a councillor there that has a lot to say and he doesn’t really leave a lot of room for anyone to say anything and he can be quite intimidating.”
Ms Roberts said when she was elected to council for her first term in September 2016, several councillors told her “sit, listen and learn for the first 12 months. Don’t speak”.
Ms Roberts said she believed the community’s stance on the councillors was “no good at the moment”.
“Unfortunately this term, we’re copping a lot of issues that we’re facing now, that not only stem from our term,” she said.
“I think you can look back for years and see where things have started going wrong, tough decisions weren’t made and it’s all come to a head in the term I’m on.
“And I don’t think the community quite understands what has happened leading up to a lot of the issues, not all of them, but a lot of them.”
She said these issues included rates, fees and charges.
“I don’t think any of them were appropriately incremented over the years, but it’s fallen on us now,” she said.
“Our improvement order said that we needed to review those because obviously they could see they were lacking.
“So, the community wouldn’t have noticed it as much if every year or two it gradually went up. It didn’t.”
Ms Roberts said she thought the public inquiry would have happened a while ago, but said with council’s general manager and finance director council was making good strides ahead.
“We are looking at becoming more financially stable and sustainable,” she said.
Cr Mannix, who has spent 15-16 years on council echoed Cr Roberts’ sentiments that Cr O’Halloran tended to dominate council meetings.
“I read the agendas and if there’s anything to be said about a particular item I’ll say it,” he told the commissioner.
“But most times the agendas are set and most times on the issues…I think councillor O’Halloran speaks on probably every line item even if he doesn’t have to, but he does.
Lillian Altman 