The new Mayor of Ripon has said she is optimistic the city council can move forward and be more “open and accessible” in the future following a period of turbulence.
But the council is now facing another backlash from residents after criticism of recent events was removed from a Facebook post on Ripon City Council’s page.
One person who saw their comments removed was Brian McHugh who told YorkMix he had written nothing offensive but had been very critical of the way the previous Mayor was forced from office.
He says he’s written to the council asking why his contribution was removed and who was responsible – but there’s been no reply so far.
“I asked, can you tell me specifically which comment was removed and the reasons why? He said: ‘Unfortunately, I’ve not had an answer to that email’, which, again, doesn’t help with this optic of a council with a new direction and a Mayor who’s choosing not to listen.”
Another contributor, Julie, wrote on a post advertising a meeting this Friday, “All mine [comments] have gone. So much for fairness and transparency.”
Another angry resident, Nick, wrote: “Why have Ripon City Council removed all the comments? Surely when put on a social public forum such as Facebook, people are allowed to express they thoughts and feelings!
“There was absolutely nothing wrong with the comments that had been put on this post when I read them earlier.”
Cllr Andrew Williams, the former leader, who resigned on the grounds of ill health, has asked the new Mayor, Councillor Barbara Brodigan to explain.
He has written to her saying: “I would be grateful if you would identify which standing order you were acting upon in instructing (a staff member) to remove posts from the council Facebook page. I can find nowhere where such delegated or executive powers exist .
“I am sure that the members of the public who have complained about this issue will be very interested to know which standing order you were acting under.”
YorkMix has asked Councillor Brodigan for a response.
Meanwhile, the new Mayor was speaking earlier after being elected by members of Ripon City Council at a meeting on Monday.
The vote took place following the resignation of the authority’s previous mayor, Councillor Jackie Crozier, and deputy mayor, Councillor Gary Camplejohn.
The leader and deputy leader on the council, Councillor Andrew Williams, and Peter Horton, respectively, also recently stood down after a group of seven other councillors proposed the removal of the leader and deputy roles.
A meeting on Friday (26 September) will discuss a motion to dissolve the council’s staffing committee, which included councillors Williams, Horton and Crozier, and replace it with a new human resources committee.
Cllr Brodigan, who is also a Liberal Democrat councillor on North Yorkshire Council, said the new committee would hold its first meeting next week.
“They will start the process of trying to close what’s been happening, resolve it, move forward and recruit new staff.
“We recognise it will take time, but we are optimistic that we can move forward.
Heated exchanges have taken place at the last two council meetings between councillors and members of the public. One councillor told the public it was “our meeting” (councillors) not theirs. You can hear that exchange on this YorkMix story link.
Cllr Brodigan added: “We can understand why feelings are really high because people have said they don’t know what’s been going on.
“Sometimes there is some information that we can’t divulge. But we need to reassure people that we are not being underhand, that we recognise we have got a problem on Ripon City Council and we just need to work together to sort it out.
The councillor admitted the events of recent weeks had been “a bit of a saga”.
Additional Material from the Local Democracy Reporting Service
