Council minutes: ghost of Stalin haunts Bree
In the ongoing row between Clr. Declan Bree and County Manager Hubert Kearns, the Independent Socialist councillor has now claimed he was " air brushed" out of the minutes of a county council meeting.
"Joe Stalin used to airbrush photos but I have been airbrushed out of the minutes of a meeting," Clr. Bree told the March monthly meeting of Sligo County Council at which he questioned the accuracy of the minutes of the February monthly meeting.
Clr. Bree said the first four pages of the minutes contained comments made by the County Manager with regard to the formal investigation which he initiated following the walk out by officials from a Borough Council meeting in November 2008 when he, Clr. Bree, criticised the recommendation that €1.3 million be handed over to developers to assist them build their bridge.
"I have read the minutes and they appear to accurately reflect what the County Manager said at the meeting," said Clr. Bree who went on to tell council chairman, Clr. Gerry Murray, that he would recollect that in response to the County Manager's comments, he, Clr. Bree, also made a lengthy statement to the Council.
"There were representative of the press here and the County Manager's statement and my statement were published in The Sligo Champion and covered on local radio," Clr. Bree said.
He added: "However if you examine the minutes you will note that there is no reference whatsoever to my statement or the comments I made at the meeting. In fact there isn't even a hint or a suggestion that I addressed the meeting. What we have here is a one-sided and biased record of what occurred at the last meeting of this Council."
Clr. Bree said he believed that the minutes "clearly illustrate what is rotten in local government in Sligo."
"This type of behavior is outrageous. Is it any wonder that more and more people are losing confidence in local government in this county," Clr. Bree asked.
Clr. Jude Devins asked if there was a proposal to amend the minutes.
Clr. Bree said he had no intention of bringing forward amendments.
"Why would I attempt to change or interfere with evidence like this? In my opinion, these minutes reflect the mindset of the senior executive of the Council. What hope is there for openness and transparency in this organisatio," Clr. Bree said.
Mr. Kearns said that he made certain statements at the February meeting that Clr. Bree had bullied a number of staff and they were recorded in the minutes. There was nothing inaccurate as far as he knew and "you cannot include everything" in minutes.
Clr. Bree: " Joe Stalin used to airbrush photos but I have been airbrushed out of the minutes of this meeting."
- HARRY KEANEY
