TWO Horsham councillors have thanked the community for their support after they both announced they would consider resigning from council.
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Councillors David Grimble and John Robinson both stated last month they would consider resignation and called into question council’s governance.
The comments came after council decided to not explore other bypass options for the city, which was its stance in 2013.
Cr Grimble said if councillors approved that decision, he would reconsider his position on council.
At a meeting on Monday, Cr Grimble thanked the public for their support in the time since he made the comments.
“I announced I might resign from council and rest assured I’m not going to hand my resignation in,” he said.
“I have since spoken about the issues I have with other agencies, including the Municipal Association of Victoria.
“It is my view that we are not making good decisions to get the best outcomes for our community.
“I understand this is raw politics, but when it gets in the way of making decisions, I will speak up.”
Cr Grimble said he believed resolutions were not being enacted in the spirit of debate.
“Our government model is out of balance,” he said.
“I appreciate that the relationships between councillors and officers need to be extremely close, but there needs to be a separation of power.”
Cr Grimble said it was important that councillors were allowed to speak their mind.
He said he met with representatives from the Municipal Association of Victoria last month to discuss the issues further.
“My comments about a resignation were not flippant and were not made lightly,” he said.
“I’m not going to spend the next three years not acting in the best interest of the community – I have other things I could be doing and I have a farm to run.”
Cr Grimble said he received many messages of support from Horsham residents following his comments about a possible resignation.
Cr John Robinson also met with the Municipal Association of Victoria to discuss issues within council.
He said he also received great support from the community about his position on council.