Councillor Diogo Rodrigues said he had attempted to question the handling of the town council’s projected £420,000 overspend at the Extraordinary Finance and Corporate Services Committee meeting on Monday, June 25, before being ‘chucked out’.
The scheduled 30-minute meeting left only ten minutes for committee members to question the Town Chief Executive’s presentation of the report on the town council’s budget position.
Cllr Rodrigues reported that he had prepared a series of questions aimed at addressing concerns over the council’s financial management, but was prevented from asking them due to time constraints.
“The meeting did not allow for proper scrutiny,” he said.
“If the council doesn’t allow for critical friends to challenge the robustness of the finances, which is taxpayer money, then the finances of the council will tumble.
“There were significant financial risks in the report that were not identified in the papers, and this is not acceptable.”
Cllr Rodrigues said his requests to extend the meeting were denied by Chairman Mick Lerry, who allegedly instructed the councillor to ask his questions in private, to which he declined as he felt the matters were of public interest.
The situation escalated when Cllr Lerry allegedly began wagging his finger at Rodrigues.
When Cllr Rodrigues demanded that Cllr Lerry should stop wagging his finger, he was reportedly ordered to leave the meeting.
“Is this a deliberate attempt to disallow questioning from the councillors present?” Rodrigues said.
“Can council finances be properly scrutinised with just 10 minutes of questioning?
“If every committee member was given two minutes to ask a question, then we would have gone well over the time available.
“It is acceptable to throw a councillor out of a meeting for aggressive behaviour such as finger pointing in someone’s face,” Rodrigues added.
“But we should never throw a councillor out of a meeting for questioning huge financial errors.
“This is about ensuring transparency and accountability for the people we serve.”
In response to the incident, Cllr Brian Smedley, leader of the town council, said Cllr Rodrigues ‘wouldn’t shut up’, and reportedly left the meeting of his own accord.
“Clearly its election time, and Diogo is the agent for the Tory candidate,” Cllr Smedley said.
“But this doesn’t give him the right to take over a whole town council meeting with his questions.
“He also needs to respect the authority of the chair and constantly trying to speak over him isn’t going to get far with Cllr Mick Lerry, an experienced teacher of difficult kids.
“What actually happened was Diogo wouldn’t shut up when asked and after this went on and on the chair asked him to leave and he did.
“Hardly thrown out, and hardly censored as he’d already asked eight questions while other members were patiently waiting to speak.
“Sadly, he wasn’t ‘chucked out’ of the meeting, he left of his own accord, and the only thing bruised was his massive ego.”
However, a spokesperson for Bridgwater Town Council stated Cllr Rodrigues was ‘asked to leave’ the meeting.
“There are procedures in place for proper scrutiny, and questions can be raised prior to any meeting,” the spokesperson said.
“No questions were raised with the Chair prior to the Finance and Corporate Services committee, however councillors were afforded the opportunity to ask questions and duly did.
“The councillor in question was not removed from the meeting, but was asked to leave.
“After extensive questions asked, the Chair of the meeting told the councillor to ask further questions to Town Council Officers after the meeting, in order to give other councillors the opportunity to ask their questions.
“After a debate between the councillor and the Chair, the councillor in question was asked to leave the meeting, and he duly did.
“Bridgwater Town Council’s code of conduct ensures that councillors are treated fairly and consistently.
“During meetings it is important that all members show respect for other members and the authority of the Chair.”
