COUNCILLORS have hit back at Newcastle lord mayor Ross Kerridge's claims a decision to strip him of powers afforded to his predecessor "smacks of a deliberate ambush".
New Instruments of Delegation (IOD), which set out the lord mayor's decision-making powers, usurp Cr Kerridge's control over the chief executive's pay, bonuses and incentives, staffing decisions in his own office and the ability to choose who votes at local government conferences.
Cr Kerridge circulated an alternative motion ahead of Tuesday night's meeting to non-Labor councillors, which would have continued the status quo afforded to former lord mayor Labor Cr Nuatali Nelmes for 12 months.
That motion, which appears to have been authored by Labor party dissident and Cr Kerridge's unofficial offsider Andrew Piper, was not presented at the meeting.
Greens Cr Charlotte McCabe said she strongly disagrees with using the term "ambush" to describe a majority vote of the elected council.
"I feel strongly that the powers of delegation to the lord mayor were vastly improved by the council's decision," she said.
"The elected council voted to remove previous powers that had been afforded to the lord mayor which I believe were not in the interests of good governance.
"In no way do these changes limit the ability of the lord mayor to do his job."
Greens colleague Cr Joel Pringle agreed, arguing they heard "no compelling arguments" as to why the lord mayor should retain those powers.
The IOD can be adopted any time within the first 12 months of the council term.
Cr Kerridge said he was given the impression the decision had to be made at the first council meeting and said the approach of putting big ticket items on the first agenda is a "strategy" used by organisations.
"I was warned, even before the election, I was warned that if I was to be elected, that a common strategy of organisations was to put through important issues on the first night and try and create an undue sense of urgency," he said.
Cr Kerridge discussed keeping the status quo with non-Labor councillors prior to the meeting and felt reassured the matter would be held over.
He said he did not take the alternate motion to Labor councillors because "communication with them has been disappointing".
All 10 Greens, Liberal and Labor councillors voted in favour of the rollback, with Independents Cr Kerridge, Cr Gittens and Cr Brooker opposed.
Cr Gittens said he voted against it because he needed more time to fully understand the changes.
"I also did not understand the sense of urgency as I assumed that there was a designated timeframe for the review of delegations to take place," he said.
"In the absence of clear explanations as to what the specific changes were, other than the perceived need to streamline current practice, it was disappointing that they were put forward at the first council meeting especially when the lord mayor and six councillors were new to the role."
A copy of the 2022 IOD was not provided in the agenda, but it is publicly available on the council's website.
The reason council staff gave for bringing the IOD back in-line with those set out in state government legislation typically adopted by councils was that the hybrid model was causing headaches for staff and opening the organisation to legal risks.
Liberal deputy mayor Callum Pull said the former delegations allowed decisions to be made "away from public scrutiny".
"By bringing these delegations back in line with legislation, we bring those decisions back into the public eye where they should have always been," he said.
"The lord mayor is not elected to be a dictator.
"Instead of breaking agreements he makes with councillors, he should instead focus on working with the elected council."
Cr Pull called on the lord mayor to explain why he wants additional powers, pointing out Liberal councillors voted exactly the same way they did in 2022 when the delegations last came to council.
"I have always opposed additional powers being delegated where there is an insufficient justification to do so," he said.
Cr Kerridge previously told the Newcastle Herald he felt the changes may hamper his ability to deliver his election promise to launch an investigation into council matters, including the Neylon-Sivo letter writing scandal which saw Mr Bath face heavy scrutiny from the public and non-Labor councillors.
The 2022 IOD specified the lord mayor would have the power to obtain external legal advice in relation to the appointment, conduct and performance of the chief executive officer.
Cr Brooker said the community has asked for greater transparency and he intends to deliver that.
"Over time we want to add to the transparency and the openness of what council does," he said.
"It's the last place that should be secretive, meetings happen behind closed doors and private lives happen behind closed doors but decisions made the governing body of the city, or the administration of the city, should be absolutely transparent."
Greens Cr Sinead Francis-Coan said she thinks the community feels the matter has not been resolved.
"From my understanding, the Sivo letters were identified post-previous investigation," she said.
"As such I would support a new investigation and I think that it's also important that any investigation has the trust of the community from the beginning."
Cr McCabe said her intention is to request permission to be notified as to whether there is a Code of Conduct investigation occurring or not and will determine the appropriate course of action from there.
"As I have previously stated publicly, my position is that the new allegations that have been made in the Newcastle Herald are concerning and warrant a separate investigation," she said.
"Due to the nature of Code of Conduct investigations, it's impossible for councillors to know whether a second investigation is currently under way as these are designed to be carried out entirely in confidence."
Labor councillors reiterated earlier comments to the Herald that the new delegations are consistent with the practice of the previous council under Cr Nelmes.
A delegation which made the lord mayor and chief executive Jeremy Bath nominated directors on Newcastle Airport companies was also removed, instead the council will vote on representation after a briefing at the end of the month.
A move to increase the limit on tenders Mr Bath is able to accept to $2 million was quashed, keeping it at $1 million. The chief executive's delegations were also brought in-line with the Local Government Act.
A four-person panel will undertake the annual review of the chief executive's performance, one of which is Cr Kerridge.
The panel will make recommendations about performance and remuneration, with the final decision in the hands of the elected council.
