Shellharbour City Council general manager Brian Weir, who has described his office as "under siege", soon found himself dodging more bullets yesterday, this time from counsel assisting the State Government's public inquiry into the council.
Was it appropriate for ratepayers to pay for councillors to attend ALP fund-raisers?
Did wearing both the Shell Cove hat and the council's general manager hat present a conflict of interest?
Why did he not ensure he had his annual performance reviews as required by statute?
Counsel assisting the inquiry, Daniel Meltz, often had to put the same question several times after Mr Weir gave extended responses that failed to include the answers he sought.
He had no problem describing how, as soon as the councillors were elected in 2004, he faced problems of respect, trust and functionality.
He said some councillors had begun an antagonistic relationship before they were elected.
When they kicked up a fuss about the council paying for a training induction weekend in Jamberoo, Mr Weir didn't know how to steer the new council back on track.
For the next 18 months he was inundated with calls, three to four times a day from some councillors.
"There was a state of siege in my office. We were getting this avalanche right through 2004," Mr Weir said.
"We've had to engage an inhouse solicitor for the first time to try and make ourselves more bulletproof.
"I feel I've been marginalised during these four years. I've been fortunate to have good directors, as I've had to pull right back and work on governance issues."
Mr Weir said the councillors "over-emphasise their responsibilities to the community" and did not understand their role as a board of directors.
He blamed allegiances between some councillors and "pressure groups" for the degeneration of council meetings, particularly the public participation component, where "tirades of abuse about council officers and certain councillors" were made by residents.
There was a group of councillors with whom he clashed, including Deputy Mayor Michele Greig. She was one of at least five councillors Mr Weir considered he had such a difficult relationship with, that it would be impossible for them to review his performance as required under his contract.
Counsel assisting the inquiry then moved on to Shell Cove, querying how Mr Weir managed to wear the dual hats of developer and general manager.
The general manager receives a separate payment of $30,000 annually to oversee the $1.5 billion Shell Cove project, which the council is developing with Australand.
"Isn't there a perception that you're receiving a payment on the one hand from the council, and then on the other hand from Shell Cove? Isn't there a potential for a conflict of interest there?" Mr Meltz asked.
"No, quite the contrary. It's much more misleading if it just goes as a lump sum as one payment," Mr Weir replied.
"Have there been instances where you've had conflicts between your responsibilities to council and your responsibilities to the Shell Cove project?"
"No. We have to strike the right balance. Council is the owner and the developer," Mr Weir replied.
Mr Weir's responses for the next topic were brief. He "didn't recall" if there was any code preventing councillors being paid to attend ALP fund-raisers. There may have been one or two of these fund-raisers, but he hadn't seen them as that. They were more dinners or meetings with ministers.
"But some councillors attended a fund-raiser for Noreen Hay in 2004?" he was asked.
Mr Weir agreed that Mayor David Hamilton had his $250 ticket paid for by ratepayers, but Councillor Greig, her husband and the mayoress had paid their own way. It was unclear who had paid for Cr Helen Gillett to attend.
The Mercury reported this month that Shellharbour and Kiama councillors had attended fund-raisers to lobby ministers for regional projects.
At the time Cr Hamilton said only a $500 expense was incurred by ratepayers, and that by attending he had secured funding for projects such as a road extension to Dunmore.
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