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Chapter 52: Member / Officer Relations Protocol
Poor working relations between Members and officers can be destructive to good governance.
5.2 Bullying behaviour may happen only once or it may be part of a pattern of behaviour directed at a weaker person or person whom the Member or the officer has some actual or perceived influence over. Such behaviour may include attacking a specific officer’s conduct in public when Officers are instructed not to ‘answer back’ in public. This can be contrasted with the legitimate challenges which a Member or officer can make in challenging policy or scrutinising performance.
C - Impartiality and accountability of officers of the Council
As Members and officers we:
Acknowledge the importance of
maintaining
the impartiality of officers
Accountability of Members and officers
Members should raise constituents’ queries or concerns through the proper channels and not go direct to junior officers. Members should not seek to ‘jump the queue’, but should be aware of and implement the Council’s procedures. This approach ensures that resources are able to be appropriately prioritised and resourced.
Officers should seek to explain why a course of action is being recommended. Reports should lay out all relevant factors for the decision maker, and examine all alternatives in an even handed way.
When an Officer provides a report it should contain clear, evidence-based advice as to why a course of action is being recommended. From time to time corporate advice is given to officers on report writing and they should take care to follow it. The report should lay out all relevant factors for the decision maker, and examine all alternatives in an even handed way. Officers should take care to include even unpopular options if they feel they are relevant.
Members have the right to criticise reports or the actions taken by officers, but they should: