Nedlands mayor Fiona Argyle reveals why council’s ‘political coup’ against her happened

Sacked City of Nedlands mayor Fiona Argyle believes it was her response to stop a Perth-high rates rise for ratepayers 12 months ago that was the pretext for an uprising against her from within, which came to a council-imploding head this week.

The ensuing year’s bitter in-fighting culminated in four councillors quitting on Monday, with Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley confirming what remains of the council will be sacked and replaced by commissioners to run the city.

One of the new commissioners’ first tasks will be to determine the size of this financial year’s rates bills for Nedlands ratepayers, along with its budget, like many other WA councils have already done in recent weeks.

Former councillor Hengameh Amiry told PerthNow this week that was part of the reason for the timing of the quartet’s exodus.

“We wanted to be sure that the budget was not set by this council,” Ms Amiry said.

A year ago, the council wrestled with what would have been a proposed 9.5 per cent rates rise, which Ms Argyle and a majority of councillors railed against despite being told by staff the tough hike was necessary to keep up with required maintenance and development projects.

In demanding the rise be no more than just 3.6 per cent, the mayor quipped her council was “cutting the fat, not the muscle” out of its budget.

The council slashed spending on bushland maintenance and closed the Point Resolution Childcare in Dalkeith — which is now allowed to reopen under new private management — and promised considerable cuts to its workforce.

“Every single operational cost will be coming under the microscope,” she said at the time.

“It’s consultants and contractors we’re cutting out, and we’re going to engage the community at greater levels.”

The City of Nedlands has since been the subject of a WorkSafe investigation amid reports more than 70 staff members had quit in the past 18 months.

This week’s turmoil and associated interruptions will likely make Nedlands among the last Perth councils to finalise and send out its annual rates notices.

The council had gotten as far as advertising a proposed 4.8 per cent rise but after a series of meetings where it couldn’t achieve a quorum, it had not deliberated the actual budget and rates rise to underpin it.

Ms Argyle, who has been overseas in recent weeks and declared in a radio interview this week that the resignations had been “fantastic news for all ratepayers”, has not responded to PerthNow’s questions since Monday.

But she told a Post Newspapers reporter their act amounted to a “political coup” and some councillors had turned on her over her opposition to last year’s 9.5 per cent proposed rates rise.

“It really came to a head when that group wanted to put up the rates 9.5 per cent and I insisted it be 3.6 per cent,” Ms Argyle said.

“I’ve just tried so hard to be a good mayor for the people of Nedlands.

“I worked so hard on tree protection and the environment.

“Now the ratepayers have to pay for three commissioners. It will be a million dollars if they are there for a year.”

Ms Beazley said the incoming trio of professionals, who are yet to be appointed, will effectively act as the council until at least the local government elections in October.