A regional Queensland council is considering charging residents to make complaints regarding corruption and fraud against councillors.
A report was put forward in a council meeting today, which was argued extensively, with only Mayor Danielle Slade voting against the proposal.
Now that it is supported, the Mount Isa City Council will submit a formal motion to the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) annual conference this year where it will need to be voted up for it to become policy.
In a letter attached to the agenda of the meeting to be sent to LGAQ CEO Greg Hallam, Mr Keenan wrote that the council had spent more than $105,000 since January this year investigating complaints.
Mayor's sole vote against
Cr Slade said she believed the fee would make some of the community feel they could not afford to complain about a councillor's acts.
"I would hate to see someone with financial difficulties not put in a complaint," she said.
In the written submission to Mr Hallam, Mr Keenan outlined what complaints would incur the fee.
"Mount Isa City Council therefore proposes, for your consideration and support, the application of a fee to lodge a complaint that relates to serious matters including corrupt conduct, fraud, misconduct, maladministration and councillor conduct," Mr Keenan wrote.
"An application fee of $200 per complaint is proposed.
Cr Slade said the item had been discussed earlier with all councillors present and she was not surprised by the outcome of the vote.
Anonymous complaints an issue
Councillor Mick Tully said $105,000 had been spent since January this year investigating complaints — none of which had been proven true.
"I think with a fee it will dis-encourage people to make complaints that are false," Cr Tully said.
"That tends to make me think that it's all coming from one person."
Cr Tully said he hoped the motion would be passed at the LGAQ annual conference.
"I'm pretty sure the majority of local government councillors … will certainly encourage that fee to be in place," he said.
"I think if someone is very set on a complaint that is not fictitious, I think $200 is not hard to find."
Councillor Kim Coghlan also spoke in support of the fee.
"If it's proven to be correct, you get your money back."
A spokesperson for the LGAQ said all motions put forward at the annual conference would be considered and debated.
"Individual councils and groups of councils submit motions on matters of local and regional importance for debate at our annual conference," they said.
