On Tuesday, a rescission motion was brought forward by Councillors Mike Neville, Doug Curran and Brian Simpson, but quickly shot down.

They instigated the rescission motion to "right a wrong". They believe the vote to enable mayor John Dal Broi to begin negotiations with general manager Brett Stonestreet was counted incorrectly.

The vote on October 13, taken during the closed section, was carried on the voices as opposed to councillors raising hands.

During this week's meeting, Cr Dal Broi said he met with Mr Stonestreet to talk terms which were agreed upon for a contract renewal.

He told councillors legal advice he had gotten said those negotiations were a significant part of the October 13 resolution which was why the rescission motion lodged on October 19 was ruled 'out of order'.

Councillor Neville said he believed the mayor had "mis-counted" the votes on the resolution during a closed council meeting.

He said Cr Dal Broi didn't ask what the intention of the rescission motion was about when the mayor was notified.

Cr Neville denied there were meetings between any councillors.

"We only wanted to discuss righting a wrong," Cr Neville said.

Cr Neville said the rescission motion would have allowed a further debate but also provide clarity with a further vote for contract negotiations.

Cr Neville said no formal directive had yet been given to councillors about the negotiations.

"I've seen bullying behaviour from him over a number of years and I wasn't prepared to embarrass council further by raising my voice.

"I know what it's like to sit in his seat and he showed a lack of professionalism."

READ MORE

Cr Curran said there was concern that the numbers which endorsed the resolution may not have been counted correctly, and the aim of the rescission motion was to "right a wrong".

"The other issue we now face is the contract is to the 2024 election, so the next council will be in a difficult spot," he said.

"You've potentially got a council going into caretaker mode and may need a caretaker GM."

Cr Simpson said the mayor's ruling over the rescission motion was 'unfortunate".

"I'm looking forward to the next meeting when the GM's contract comes before council," he said.

"It would be nice to have a full and open debate about it."

Cr Dal Broi said there had been little discussion during the meeting ahead of the October 13 vote.

"I heard a majority say yes, a few say no so I declared it carried," he said.

"I called it on the voices, they didn't call for a division. What we should do is get a division on every motion."

Cr Dal Broi believed some councillors had met to discuss the vote which he found "offensive".

"If they want to go back and rewind the clock, that indicates that some of these people are very unprofessional," he said.

Cr Dal Broi said councillors needed to understand the Local Government Act in full and "not in bits and pieces".

A report about the GM's contract extension will be presented to council at the next meeting.