A Burnside councillor who sent an inappropriate message to a teenage girl has rejected calls for him to resign and repay costs from an investigation into his online activity.
Julian Carbone has been subject to a code of conduct complaint investigation after he sent a message from his official Instagram account to a 17-year-old girl which said: "Lots of bikini photos — but it's so damn cold at the moment hey".
The teenager made a complaint to Burnside Council after she received the message request late last year and alleged the councillor's official Instagram account followed a "number of young females".
The investigation, which included engaging a cyber security expert, cost the council $11,585.
During last night's council meeting, Cr Henry Davis said Cr Carbone's conduct had brought the council into disrepute and caused the community to lose confidence in its ability to govern.
"I condemn the actions of Cr Carbone in messaging a 17-year-old girl which in no circumstances would pass the moral standard of any member of the community, let alone, an elected official," he said.
"To add salt to the wound, when Cr Carbone was presented with the complaint his denial unduly cost ratepayers well beyond what would normally be expected of a standard code of conduct."
Cr Davis said Cr Carbone's explanations were "quite frankly ridiculous".
"Simultaneously he claimed to have been hacked, he claims he doesn't remember sending it, he claimed that someone stole his phone at 5:06am as some kind of joke, he says he messaged the wrong the account," he said.
“It is clear that maintaining these conflicting excuses is completely untenable.
Councillors Jane Davey and Helga Lemon expressed their support for Cr Carbone to resign.
The council unanimously carried a motion supporting that the recommendations from the investigation report into Cr Carbone's conduct be adopted.
The report recommended he issue a written apology, cease using the Instagram account and attend training in relation to the use of social media.
The council also ordered a report into why the code of conduct complaint investigation cost double the usual cost of such an inquiry and into whether council can recoup the costs from Cr Carbone.
Cr Carbone, who was absent from the meeting, told the ABC that he will not be resigning and would stand for re-election later this year.
"I am very passionate about our community, I am very committed to the work that I have done and continue to do. I am going to focus on all of the good that I have done over the last three-and-a-half years leading to the next election," he said.
"I am not going to be deterred by what is a relatively minor thing in the scheme of things."
Cr Carbone said he wanted to resolve the "misunderstanding" by talking to the complainant over a cup of coffee, but she declined.
"That message was not intended for her, it was sent by mistake. I know it, she now knows it and the whole community knows it was a mistake," he said.
Cr Carbone said although he did not remember sending the message — and if he did, it was not meant for the teen — he would take responsibility as the owner of the account.
"I am going to apologise, it is inappropriate, I am old enough and experienced enough to know those sorts of messages are not on, especially from an elected official," he told ABC Radio Adelaide's Stacey Lee.
Cr Carbone said the message was inappropriate, but he did not think it was "sleazy or dodgy".
"It was simply making a comment that she was at the beach, and it was cold at the time," he said.
In regard to the report's recommendations, Cr Carbone said he had deleted his Instagram account and would undergo social media training, as well as apologise.
"I am happy to sit down and work out how I can move forward without attracting all of these fake profiles because I was taking everybody on face value, I accepted every request and accepted every follower," he said.
"I was just doing what I thought was the right thing to do but of course I have got myself in hot water because I have been following all of these fake profiles unintentionally."
