Hilltops mayor Brian Ingram is considering legal action after his leadership came under fire by fellow councillors at November's ordinary meeting.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
He lost a motion of no confidence by one vote on Wednesday night at the Boorowa council chambers, after Cr Ingram decided to withdraw his vote.
The motion put forward by Cr Marg Roles was supported by Cr Wendy Tuckerman, Cr Rita O'Connor, Cr Chris Manchester and Cr Matt Stadtmiller. Crs John Horton, Greg Armstrong, Tony Flanery and John Walker opposed the motion.
Cr Ingram made it five votes for and against, however he decided to remove himself from the count when a conflict of interest was raised.
"The motion achieves nothing except it drives a wedge between councillors. It's disappointing as a council to be portrayed this way to the wider community," he said.
Cr Ingram said he's seeking legal advice following comments made by a fellow councillor who spoke for the motion.
"It's now a matter pending legal proceedings," he said.
The motion of no confidence comes just two months after mayoral elections at September's council meeting, when Cr Ingram was re-elected with a majority of six votes.
Cr Ingram is also encouraging residents who are against amalgamation to seek and sign petitions, after minister of local government Shelley Hancock announced the possibility of an independent review of the merger of Cootamundra and Gundagai shire councils.
Cr Ingram said he was aware of a petition circulating Harden and believes petitions will be made available to sign in Boorowa and Young.
"I would encourage all residents in the community who are unhappy with amalgamation, and I know there's a few, to seek out and sign the petition circulating in Harden. I suspect there'll be one in Young and Boorowa soon also," he said. "This will give us the same opportunity as other merged councils to be heard about demerging."
A petition signed by around 12 percent of enrolled voters in the Cootamundra-Gundagai local government area had been handed to Ms Hancock.
She issued a statement on Wednesday saying she had "listened carefully to the views of the community, the councils and local members" and would now consider submissions which could lead to her referring demerger proposals to the local government boundaries commission for "examination and report".
Cootamundra MP Steph Cooke who welcomed the announcement met with premier Gladys Berejiklian, deputy premier John Barilaro and Shelley Hancock on Tuesday to discuss the proposal.