A Griffith councillor has defended himself following claims he failed to properly disclose his involvement in the popular Beauty and the Beast production.
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Betty Neville of Betty Boo Wigs & Costumes, wife of councillor and former mayor Mike Neville, was paid $5000 by Griffith City Council to be the costume designer for Beauty and the Beast.
Residents have raised concerns about Cr Neville’s official declarations to council regarding his involvement with Betty Boo Wigs & Costumes.
Both Cr Neville and Mrs Neville are listed as directors of MGN Business Services Pty Ltd, the holder of Betty Boo Wigs & Costumes.
Cr Neville is also the chair of Griffith City Council’s Cultural Facilities Committee, which oversees Griffith Regional Theatre.
Despite Cr Neville’s clear involvement, he did not make a declaration about his interest in Betty Boo Wigs & Costumes until more than a month after Beauty and the Beast finished its run.
He had made previous financial declarations listing 10 Wyangan Avenue, Betty Boo’s address, as a property he has an interest in, but it is only listed as the address, not the business.
According to the minutes of the Cultural Facilities Committee meeting on October 26, Cr Neville’s declaration was of a pecuniary interest, but he did not leave the meeting as required by Griffith City Council’s code of conduct policy.
The code of conduct states a pecuniary interest arises because of a “reasonable likelihood” of financial gain or loss.
It goes on to say a person will also be taken to have a pecuniary interest in a matter if their spouse, de facto partner or a relative has a pecuniary interest in the matter.
Cr Neville told The Area News he had “no financial interest in Betty Boos beside being a director (of the company)”.
He said the operation of the theatre budget was up to the manager of the theatre and he only had a “second-hand involvement” assisting Mrs Neville with costumes during the production.
Council general manager Brett Stonestreet confirmed Mr Neville was involved during the production period, providing assistance to Mrs Neville.
Services included allocation of costumes to performers, fitting of costumes, repairs and alterations of costumes and attending all dress rehearsals and performances to assist performers identify and change into costumes as required.
Griffith mayor John Dal Broi said councillors had a responsibility to be transparent.
“If in doubt, they should declare,” Cr Dal Broi said.
“Wherever we have financial dealings with the council or whether one of our close relations have we need to declare it. It’s the responsibility of each councillor to make sure they carry out their duties well within the Local Government Act.”