Following the VB readers’ reaction to the piece we published earlier in the week about Cllr Mazillius’ speech at the State of the Island debate, we wondered if his behaviour was in fact within the boundaries of what is acceptable for councillors within the Code of Conduct.
We had a quick look at the council’s ‘Ethical Standards Committee Website‘ which said “The Isle of Wight Council appoints an Ethical Standards Committee to ensure both its members and other elected councillors on the Island (town and parish councillors) maintain the highest standards of conduct.”
Reading the How to Complain page, it initially looked like Cllr Mazillius’ outburst in the Council chamber could well contravene the Code, specifically “Failing to treat people with respect” and/or “Damaging the reputation of their office or authority”, which were listed on the page.
Asking advice from Davina Fiore
As Davina Fiore is listed as Director of Corporate Services and Monitoring Officer on the Ethical Standards Committee contact page, we wrote the following directly to her …
We were taken aback when we heard the recording of Cllr Mazillius giving forth at the State of the Island debate.
We’ve reported it here -> http://wig.ht/29m0
Do you think his words/behaviour comply with the Code of Conduct?
No direct reply from Davina
The next morning we heard back.
It was disappointingly not to hear from Davina herself, or indeed get a simple yes/no answer as we’d hoped for.
Instead we received the following from a junior member of council staff, who works in the communications department. They sent us …
An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson said “This would not be a matter for the monitoring officer to decide. If anyone is concerned that there has been a breach of the Code of Conduct they may complain to the monitoring officer giving details of how they consider the code has been breached.
“As per the established procedure, the complaint would then be considered by a sub-committee of the Ethical Standards Committee which will decide whether or not there has potentially been a breach and therefore whether an investigation or some other action is necessary.”
If concerned – complain
It appears that the council is saying that if anyone objected to the way Cllr Mazillius was speaking – such as labelling the ideas of members of the public as ‘Rubbish And Drivel’ – then they should complain and see if the Ethical Standards Committee agree with them.
We’ve embedded the Isle of Wight council’s constitution below, if you want to look it over. The section on the code of conduct is on page 148, or you can jump straight there (in a new browser window) with this link.
Isle of Wight council constitution
