The growing dysfunction between Mount Isa mayor Danielle Slade and her councillors was exposed again in two exchanges during the May meeting.
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The trouble has been brewing since the 2020 election which elected Cr Slade as mayor in a narrow defeat of the incumbent mayor Joyce McCulloch.
Five of Mayor McCulloch's team were also re-elected councillors, giving them the balance of power in the seven-person chamber.
Cr Slade has not been afraid to be the only vote against motions in her two years as mayor including on issues such as paying for complaints and was also at odds with council over her testimony to the Office of the Independent Assessor.
However Cr Slade has become increasingly vocal about the differences of late.
In April she was sole vote against a major funding application for projects in the city saying they had previously applied for the funding but were unsuccessful.
In May she voted against a councillor pay rise in a 5-1 decision (Cr MacRae was absent from the vote, a point she noted during the May meeting) and Cr Slade had also announced she will vote against council's own budget with a 6pc rate rise when it comes up for consideration leading to a backlash from fellow councillors about why she had not opposed it in budget meetings.
Matters became heated in the May meeting with two exchanges between the mayor and councillors.
Firstly she told Cr MacRae councillors picked the rate rise and the staff built the budget around that.
Cr MacRae said she thought council staff brought options of what they wanted to see in services and service delivery and councillors work out what rate rise was needed to support that.
No, the mayor replied, "they did give us lots of options but they did ask, what rate rise do you want," she said.
When asked for examples, the mayor said, "Telstra Hill, we should get funding for that, we don't need to spend $550,000 of ratepayers money."
Cr MacRae said if they could get funding, that would be great, "and we won't have to do a rate rise next time."
Cr Slade wanted to leave the discussion to a budget meeting later but at that point Cr Mick Tully brought up the mayor's allegation about his eligibility to serve on council.
Cr Slade told the meeting she had emailed Cr Tully with her concerns and had asked him to seek clarity with the state government about his eligibility.
Cr Tully said he lived in Mount Isa and was on the electoral roll in Mount Isa and queried the mayor "what part of the local government act I don't comply with?"
"I've asked you several times in emails, I've yet to get a response," Cr Tully said to the mayor.
Cr Slade responded that when she spoke to the state government they told her it was "where your family lives, it's where your kids go to school, it's where you pay your electricity bill, it's not always just where you are on the electoral roll".
"I did ask you, councillor, to ring the state government," Cr Slade said.
However Cr Tully responded, "I don't need to, Cr Slade, as I comply totally with the (2009) Queensland Local Government (Act)."
He challenged Cr Slade to report him if she felt he did not comply.
The North West Star contacted the Department of Local Government to clearly define what makes a councillor eligible to represent their council.
"In order to qualify to be a councillor, the Local Government Act 2009 requires the person to be an Australian citizen, reside in the local government area, be enrolled on an electoral roll, and not be disqualified for certain offences or be dismissed as a councillor as outlined in the Act," Department of Local Government spokesperson said.
"If a councillor fails to meet the criteria, they must notify the Minister, the Mayor and the Chief Executive as to why they are no longer qualified, and the day on which they became disqualified.
"A vacancy would then be filled in accordance with the Act."
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