April 30, 2019
A Toowoomba councillor has been found guilty of misconduct by the Councillor Conduct Tribunal after failing to declare a conflict of interest during a portfolio meeting.
The incident, involving Cr Geoff McDonald, occurred during a meeting of Toowoomba Regional Council’s Economic Development Committee on November 14, 2018.
However, the Tribunal noted it had been an inadvertent error by Cr McDonald, who had previously made declarations of interest during meetings about the same issue.
He had also “self-identified the omission” and brought it to the attention of Council’s chief executive officer at an early stage.
One of the items on the agenda for the meeting was an amendment to the Temporary Toowoomba CBD Development Incentive Policy.
This policy aims to stimulate CBD growth by providing financial assistance to projects which have a construction value of more than $3 million.
The committee was discussing amending the boundary of the incentive area and extending the incentive period to June 30, 2021.
The Tribunal was satisfied that amending the boundary as proposed did not raise a real or perceived conflict of interest for Cr McDonald as he owned no properties in the new inclusion area.
However, the Tribunal found that extending the incentive period did raise a perceived conflict of interest.
Cr McDonald owns two properties within the area the Incentive Policy covers.
The Tribunal noted there was no evidence that Cr McDonald had applied to obtain a benefit under the Incentive Policy in the past or intended to apply in the future.
It ordered that Cr McDonald make a public admission of his misconduct, but said as he had apologised at an Ordinary Council meeting on November 20, 2018, this requirement had already been complied with.
