Minutes:
Note: This complaint is connected to complaint COC136190, in that they both relate to the same incident.
Preamble
A complaint was received from Susan Robinson, (the Complainant), regarding the conduct of Councillor Phil Matthews (the Subject Member), of Wiltshire Town Council.
The Complainant alleged that at a Town Council meeting on 7 September 2021 the Subject Member (who is also the Mayor of the Town Council) shouted at a member of the public and ordered them to leave the meeting when the member of the public was asking a question of the Council in respect of a £200,000.00 contract that was soon to be awarded by the Council.
The Complainant considered that the Subject member by his actions and manner was very aggressive and bullying in his manner, but did not indicate which provisions of the code she considered the Subject Member had breached.
Assessment
In considering complaint COC136189 the Sub-Committee were satisfied that the initial tests of the assessment criteria had been met, including that the Subject Member was a member for the period of allegations and remains a member of Wilton Town Council, that a copy of the relevant Code of Conduct was provided for the assessment, and that the Subject Member was acting in their capacity as a Member during the various alleged actions.
The Sub-Committee further considered whether the alleged behaviour would, if proven, amount to a breach of the Code of Conduct and if so, what action would be required.
The Sub-Committee decided that as the behaviour of the Subject Member, whilst not commendable, came about following a continued disturbance, caused by a member of the public, when they refused to abide by the requests of the Subject Member to be seated and to stop talking, in turn caused the Subject member to be concerned about a loss of control over the proceedings. The Sub-Committee felt that whilst improvements could be made in respect of the Chairing skills of the Subject Member, the behaviour did not amount to a breach.
Conclusion
The Sub-Committee, on balance, and after considering all the information provided, was not persuaded that the specific alleged actions as part of the more complex dispute, would, if proven, rise to a level of a breach of the Code of Conduct. Moreover, even were it the case that they did, it was not persuaded that it was in the public interest for the matter to be investigated under the standards regime, noting the broader issues with regards to the dispute between present and past council members.
In reaching its decision, the Sub-Committee took into account the Officer’s report and supporting documentation, which included the original complaint and video recording, and the response of the Subject Member. The Sub-Committee also considered the written statements from the Complainant and the Subject Member who were not in attendance.
After discussion, it
was,
Resolved:
In accordance with the approved
arrangements for resolving standards complaints adopted by Council
on 9 July 2019, which came into effect on 1 January 2020 and after
hearing from the Independent Person, the Assessment Sub-Committee
determined to refer the complaint to the Monitoring Officer for
alternative resolution.