Cr Marquart's excuse is not good enough

Cr Marquart's excuse for not attending the Council meeting on July 27 because of a Covid-19 work plan isn't good enough. (Peninsula News, August 10)

Cr Marquart had time to visit the Wamberal disaster on July 19, but was unable to attend the extraordinary meeting the next day because of a Covid-19 work emergency?

That explains why he missed the extraordinary meeting on July 20 but it doesn't explain why he missed the meeting the following week on July 27. The paperwork had to be finished by the next morning, not a week later.

Cr Marquart said that he would have voted against Council's Operational Plan as "the Plan's costs are extreme and flabby around the midriff" and "Council's operation is addicted to spending ratepayers' money, cost saving and productivity advancements are as rare as hen's teeth and Council should have tightened its fiscal belt".

If he felt that strongly about this issue why didn't he attend the meeting on July 27?

They are being held via zoom, so he could have been where he needed to be to do his business activities, logged into the meeting and then he could have had this item brought forward on the business paper.

He could have voted on it and then he could have left the meeting to resume his business activities, but he didn't and left it to a casting vote.

Cr Marquart's excuse for not attending the meeting on July 27 shows the ratepayers where his loyalties are, and they are not with them.

SOURCE:

Email, 16 Aug 2020

Carl Veugen, Umina Beach