On
14 September 2024 the most recent scheduled state wide election of NSW
local governments took place.
In
the Clarence
Valley 17 local residents and/or ratepayers put their names forward
as candidates
at that election and, the election itself was an unremarkable event
at which 35,061 eligible residents, out of a possible 41,897
residential and non-residential electors enrolled in this area on 5
August 2024, cast their ballots for the nine vacated councillor
positions.
By
2 October 2024 the election results were declared.
Listed
in the order in which they reached the required quota or otherwise
became eligible, the following nine candidates were declared elected
for a four-year term:
Cristie
YAGER (IND)
- elected at the first count;
Peter
JOHNSTONE
(IND) - elected at the first count. Served on the previous council;
Greg
CLANCY
(GRN) - elected at the second count. Served on the previous council;
Ray
SMITH
(IND) - elected at the ninth count;
Allison
WHAITES
(IND) - elected at the eleventh count. Served on the previous
council;
Shane
CAUSLEY
- elected at the eleventh count;
Lynne
CAIRNS
(IND) - elected at the fourteenth count;
Debrah
NOVAK
(IND) - elected at the fourteenth count. Served on the previous
council; and
Karen
TOMS
(IND) - elected at the sixteenth count. Served on the previous
council.
Thus
far, like the other two tiers of government, Clarence Valley Local
Government Area has resisted electing its leader by 'popular vote'
and it is the councillors who chose the mayor who holds office for a
two-year term.
On
3 October 2024, I
remarked here
that:
Hopefully
Ray Smith will resist the urge to put his name forward for mayor.
Being a former general manager of Grafton City Council is rather a
poor recommendation in my opinion.
The
five returning councillors and four new councillors ignored the
stable from which Ray Smith sprang and elected him as Clarence Valley
Council mayor.
Thus,
seven months into his 24 month first term, Mayor Ray Smith's poor
leadership and community communication skills has resulted in a growing rift
between Council and valley residents/ ratepayers, along with barely
concealed chaos at monthly council meetings.
The
electorates growing dissatisfaction with both Mayor Smith and General
Manager Laura Black came to a head during the Thursday, 20 February
2025 Ordinary Monthly Meeting at the first item of business after
confirmation of the previous meeting's minutes:
MAYORAL
MINUTE
5.1
General Manager - Annual Performance Review
Item
Reference Number 2025.1384
Meeting
Council 20 February 2025
Submitted
by Ray Smith, Cr
Attachments
None
SUMMARY
The
review was completed in accordance with the OLG Guidelines on the
Appointment and Oversight of General Managers. In accordance with the
Guideline, this Mayoral Minute is the official report to Council on
the General Manager's Annual Performance Review. It is not an
opportunity to debate results or revisit the General Manager's
performance review.
The
annual period under assessment was October 2023 - October 2024. A
facilitator from Local Government NSW was present to assist the panel
in accordance with the Guidelines. The General Manager was assessed
against Performance targets set by the former Mayor Peter Johnstone
in conjunction with the General Manager at the start of the
performance management period, in October 2023.
The
Annual Performance Panel comprised the Mayor Ray Smith, Deputy Mayor
Greg Clancy, Cr Cristie Yager and Cr Debrah Novak. Following a six
month progress assessment being completed by the previous Council, by
a panel comprising former Mayor Peter Johnstone, former Deputy Mayor
Jeff Smith, Cr Karen Toms and Cr Debrah Novak.
PROPOSED
MOTION
That
Council
1.
note the Annual Performance Management report from the Performance
Management Review Panel.
2.
endorse the recommendation from the Performance Management Review
Panel to award the General Manager 2.5% performance pay increase
under Clause 8.3 of the Standard Contract of Employment for General
Managers of Local Councils in New South Wales with the increase
backdated to 7 October 2024.....
BACKGROUND
The
Panel agreed that the performance of the General Manager met, and in
some instances exceeded targets. The Panel acknowledged the General
Manager's leadership and positive impact on staff culture. The
General Manager fosters strong relationships through accessibility,
effective delegation, and consistent management practices. Staff feel
supported and capable, and there is mutual professional respect
between senior staff and the General Manager. Improvements in staff
retention and engagement with the community have been noted,
alongside a positive relationship with unions. Reporting to
Councillors is generally satisfactory, with only minor delays. The
leadership team's capability and the General Manager's proactive
problem-solving are recognised. Overall, performance and engagement
are steadily improving, supported by Council and the review panel.
The
performance agreement, action plan and any associated records that
contain specific information about the work performance or conduct of
the General Manager are to remain confidential unless otherwise
agreed to by the General Manager or are required to be disclosed by
law. The unauthorised disclosure of this information may constitute a
breach of the Act, the Council’s Code of Conduct and the Privacy
and Personal Information Protection Act 1998.
At
that point in the meeting Mayor Smith came face-to-face with evidence
that the content of his motion and the glowing terms he applied to the current
general manager were not universally shared by Clarence Valley
residents.
Mayor
Smith apparently took umbrage and decided to call NSW Police to
attend that 20 February meeting.
A
decision which did nothing to ease the tensions building between
Council and the Clarence Valley local government electorate and which are being reflected during Chamber debates.
On
11 April 2025 at an Extraordinary Council Meeting, Council in the
Chamber walked back the General Manager's high handed operational
decision which had been one of the trigger points for community
dissatisfaction - to
evict long-term casual occupants from its four caravan parks at
Brooms
Head, Iluka, Minnie Water and Wooli
-
and voted for the recission
motion (p
4 of 11 April 2025 Minutes)
put
forward by Crs. Cairns, Clancy and Yager.
The
final form of the resolution reading:
COUNCIL
RESOLUTION - 4.2025.2
Cr
Cairns/Cr Clancy
That
Council:
1.
directs the General Manager to have all occupants who have
long-term (casual occupation) agreements relating to the right to
occupy moveable dwelling sites in Brooms Head, Iluka, Minnie Water
and Wooli Holiday Parks and who have received notice advising them of
the termination of their long term (casual occupation) agreements,
written to informing them of the following:
a.
council withdraws the current proposed termination notices of the
long term (casual occupation) agreements for the moveable dwelling
sites used by the long-term casual occupants in Brooms Head, Iluka,
Minnie Water and Wooli Holiday Parks.
b.
council provides delegation to the General Manager to retain the
existing Long Term (Casual Occupation) occupants, and that Council
will enter into new Long Term (Casual Occupation) Agreements,
utilising the Occupation Agreement template, and this is to be
carried out immediately.
c.
council will consider any changes to the current site uses of the
Brooms Head, Iluka, Minnie Water and Wooli Holiday Parks during the
formulation of the Plans of Management, and with full involvement of
the Traditional Owners in accordance with the Native Title Act 1993.
Voting
recorded as follows
For:
Cr Yager, Cr Clancy, Cr Cairns, Cr Smith, Cr Causley
Against:
Cr Whaites, Cr Novak, Cr Johnstone CARRIED
Although
this resolution gave some relief to those affected by the general
manager's operational decision, it exacerbated the rift that had
developed between councillors during Ray Smith's mayoral term and, has
done little to alleviate concern's growing in relation to Mayor
Smith's:
a) lacklustre personal commitment to the process of community consultation;
b)
proposal to restrict Clarence Valley residents and ratepayers
attendance at council meetings - in their capacity as community
members - under an admission ticketing system;
c)
apparent desire to sever the Clarence Valley's historical ties to the
Northern Rivers region - presumably to 'protect' council from the
terrible dangers of moving away from any NSW National Party agenda
which survived the change of state government in 2023; and
d)
encouragement of a divisive
partisan atmosphere amongst councillors.
Neither
has it alleviated the ongoing concerns of Lower Clarence communities in relation to urban development pressures resulting in ill-advised
changes to topography within or adjacent to town and village
boundaries resulting in permanent changes to flood water flows, nor
the ongoing failure to address the disconnect between urban
stormwater networks designed with an uncertain upper load capacity
and the increasing number of properties being added to these
networks.
BACKGROUND
Sunday
Telegraph,
5 April 2025:
It
was meant to be their golden years. Instead, elderly residents across
four Northern Rivers caravan parks are gearing up for the fight of
their lives, with officials rallying behind them as they battle to
save their caravans from demolition.
The
Daily Telegraph reported last month how Clarence Valley Council had
advised more than 130 caravan owners – via a letter – that they
needed to vacate their leased sites to make room for tourists.
Now,
residents are considering legal action, while Nationals MP Richie
Williamson and some councillors have pushed back against the decision
to turf them all out by June 30....
Clarence
Valley Independent,
26 April 2025:
Within
minutes of it opening, the monthly Ordinary Meeting of Clarence
Valley Council (CVC) on April 17 was prematurely adjourned following
angry and emotionally charged outbursts by members of the public in
the gallery.
It
was the third month in a row CVC Mayor Ray Smith had been forced to
call an adjournment.
Clarence
Valley Independent
2 May 2025:
Ordinary
and Extraordinary Meetings of Clarence Valley Council (CVC) could
proceed in the future with limited public attendance after CVC Mayor
Ray Smith spoke of his plans to contact the Office of Local
Government this week.
When
councillors met for the rescheduled monthly Ordinary Meeting of CVC
at the Grafton Council Chambers on April 24, the Mayor was forced to
adjourn proceedings on a number of occasions in the interests of the
safety and wellbeing of councillors, council staff, members of the
public seated in the gallery, and media personnel in attendance after
a number of people continued to disrupt the event throughout the
afternoon.
As
he expressed his disappointment and reiterated previous comments made
in relation to his acknowledgement of emotions and tensions running
high within the local community following recent comments made by
Councillor Debrah Novak during an Extraordinary Meeting of CVC on
April 11 and other recent decisions made by Council, the Mayor said
he cannot continue to adjourn meetings and subsequently delay council
business which impacts other Clarence Valley residents.
Despite
the presence of two security guards, Mayor Smith revealed he put
forward a Notice of Motion to continue the rescheduled monthly
Ordinary Meeting of CVC without the public being in attendance to
enable Council to get through more than 20 items of business on the
agenda without experiencing further interruptions.
It
was carried 6-3.
The
decision was made at the conclusion of another 15-minute adjournment
while members of the public and Clarence Valley Independent
journalist Emma Pritchard were outside the Grafton Council
Chambers....
