At one stage, Mayor Milton Evans had to stop the meeting when one councillor asked to go to the toilet.

He said he was frustrated that Council was operating with only a few attending committee meetings, which help guide decisions.

He said despite all the talk of local government reform, there were only about seven councillors doing the work while 12 had been elected.

Mr Evans questioned the commitment and willingness of councillors to help progress Albany, asking them “to look seriously at yourselves.”

Four councillors were away due to illness or organised leave.

Cr Robert Buegge, a fly-in, fly-out worker, is unavailable for most general meetings.

CEO Paul Richards was also away.

Mr Evans said when important tasks needed to be accomplished at general meetings, all some councillors did was start nit-picking, with important decisions becoming an afterthought.

He told councillors speaking out at the meeting they had “better be there” at future committee meetings.

Mr Evans became irritated when his running of the meeting was called into question.

Cr Jill Bostock pointed out to the Mayor there should be no debate after she moved a procedural motion for an item to be deferred until a following meeting.

Cr Bostock called City processes into question, claiming a planning decision was illegal when Council was asked for the final approval of a planning scheme amendment of a land development at Big Grove.

This was subject to the completion of an Outline Development Plan to guide the future subdivision and development.

Cr Bostock had lost a motion to defer the decision that she said would result in unchecked dense development in a sensitive coastal environment.

She called a point of order, saying it was violating the State’s Planning and Development Act.

Executive Services director Robert Fenn had to defend the staff recommendations on the item.

Although Cr Bostock wanted the decision deferred until November, Mr Fenn said Council had to make a decision by law because the rezoning was at its last stage before going to government.

Council voted four to three to defer a decision on the rezoning until its September meeting.