Conflict of interest claim

By Rebecca Fraser
A COMPLAINT has been made against Casey Council deputy mayor Rob Wilson over a conflict of interest.
The Narre South Lions Junior Football Club (NSLSC) says Cr Wilson should not have been involved in a council discussion over an application for floodlighting at their reserve.
The issue arose after a council meeting on Tuesday 6 December at which Cr Wilson successfully moved that the application for government grants be discussed in camera.
Included in this was an item for training lights to be erected at Strathaird Reserve for the (NSLSC).
The report listed the total project costs for the Narre Warren South light poles as $31,905 with a $12,000 football club contribution, $762 from Casey Council and a $19,143 government grant.
Cr Wilson is also the secretary of the Maranatha Methodist Cricket Club which shares Strathaird Reserve with NSLSC.
Some members of the NSLSC left the council chamber in disgust when the in camera motion was passed.
During the in camera session, the light tower application was removed from the list of grant applications.
The latest move is another blow to Cr Wilson who has come under pressure to pay a small business owner $30,000 for Strathaird Reserve floodlights which he ordered.
Ron Bell of DBE Floodlighting said he had been left holding onto the lights, designed for Strathaird Reserve, since earlier this year and he wanted the matter settled.
In an email sighted by the News, Cr Wilson asked Mr Bell in February this year to ‘proceed with the order for the installation of the four towers’.
However, the council did not approve the order and has said it is not responsible for the debt and will not pay the account.
Mr Bell said he had expected to see the $30,000 in his bank account by now and had trusted Cr Wilson’s word that he would be paid.
“He has the second highest position in council and is the deputy mayor,” Mr Bell said.
“I thought he would have had a good handle on things so when he said to proceed I did.
“But warning bells started to ring when I asked him for the paperwork and he started asking what I needed.”
Mr Bell said he believed the request was legitimate as Cr Wilson signed the email quoting his past and present positions on council.
“It was not like some Jack in the shed gave me the go ahead,” he said.
Casey Council and the NSLSC are expected to meet tomorrow (Friday) to discuss the issue as well as other matters.
Mr Bell said he understood that this matter was not Casey Council’s fault and said he greatly appreciated its efforts to try to rectify the matter.
“I have nothing against council as I have been working with them for 10 or 15 years and have never had a problem,” he said.
This week a spokesman for the NSLSC declined to comment on the matter but said the club would be happy to speak on the issue in the near future.
When the News contacted Cr Wilson to discuss Mr Bell’s payment he hung up before questions could be asked.
Casey Council CEO Mike Tyler confirmed yesterday (Wednesday) that he had received the conflict of interest complaint.
Cr Wilson failed to return a call from the News asking for a response to the complaint by time of print.