An angry feud between Griffith City Council and the Griffith Business Chamber flared up on Tuesday when councillors voted unanimously to withdraw their membership from the business chamber.
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"Enough is enough," declared councillor Dino Zappacosta at the last council meeting.
The final straw was a scathing submission put forward by Griffith Business Chamber president Pat Pittavino and vice-president Paul Pierroti, both of whom have been vocal critics of council for years.
Their submission was a followup to one made in 2018, which Councillor Zappacosta described as "quite intimidating, quite abusive, and quite insulting".
"I ask myself, why the heck do we belong to this group?" Cr Zappacosta said.
He put forward a motion to council to withdraw their membership from the business chamber until they've held "talks" with Griffith Business Chamber executives about their submission.
The motion was "wholeheartedly" seconded by councillor Mike Neville, who was at loggerheads with Mr Pierroti and Mr Pittavino during his time as mayor.
"It worries me we have an organisation purporting to represent the business community that's so poorly informed," Cr Neville said.
"If I was in business in Griffith I certainly would be looking at the state business chamber as opposed to the local one."
The other councillors unanimously agreed to withdraw council's membership, which costs over $550 per year, until they've held talks with Griffith Business Chamber executives.
Mr Pittavino said he "absolutely welcomes" council's invitation to discuss the submission, adding that he would even provide the venue at a Quest Conference room and record audio from the meeting.
He proposed the meeting be between himself, Mr Pierotti, Joshua Nadzielski, mayor John Dal Broi, deputy mayor Doug Curran, and Cr Dino Zappacosta.
"It must be noted that as Public Local Government Organisation, Griffith City Council should be held to scrutiny by Griffiths Largest Business Group since 1953, a volunteer not for profit association and paying a $550 membership does not give Council the right to buy our silence," Mr Pittavino said.
A copy of Griffith Business Chamber's submission and an audio recording from last Tuesdays' council meeting can be found on the Griffith City Council website.