The counsel assisting an inquiry into the future of the Wingecarribee Shire has called for its councillors to be sacked and an interim administration to stay in place until 2024.
Wingecarribee Shire councillors were suspended last year over concerns about infighting and the council's ability to function properly.
Commissioner Ross Glover heard from 39 witnesses during a 15-day public inquiry earlier this year when examining whether or not the councillors understood their roles and responsibilities or interfered in operational matters.
Recommendation to sack councillors
Counsel assisting the inquiry David Parish was scathing in his assessment of the councillors' behaviour when making his closing submissions and recommended the commissioner declare their positions "vacant".
"The period of interim administration should remain until the next state local council elections in September 2024," Mr Parish said.
He said the damage their conduct inflicted on their relationship with the community and the council staff was "significant".
Impact on community
Mr Parish said "poor relationships" among the councillors also impacted the community.
"It did have a destabilising effect on the council, its staff and the community it serves," he said.
He said it contributed to a workplace that was not safe.
He urged the commissioner to give the general manager a period of "clear air absent of a dysfunctional governing body" to bring about change and restore community confidence in the organisation.
"It is likely that if the councillors are returned, they will restore the planning powers to their hands if at all possible," he said.
"This would reinstate a source of dysfunction and a culture where the community holds a perception that planning is not a level playing field."
The Commissioner will consider the recommendations and make a written report to the Minister for Local Government.
