THERE was no secret campaign to oust a former mayor of Saltney by fellow councillors, a tribunal has ruled.
Saltney Mold Junction councillor Klaus Armstrong-Braun also called a fellow councillor a “moral degenerate” during a meeting of Saltney Town Council and should have accounted to the town council for his expenditure of the mayoral allowance.
Yesterday the Adjudication Panel for Wales ruled on a number of ‘disputed facts’ presented during the hearing into his conduct while mayor in
2008-09.
After considering the facts the panel found Cllr Armstrong-Braun did ignore advice with regard to a meeting he cut short and that he contacted the widow of a former mayor regarding an allowance to the former mayor in an official capacity and not as a friend.
Panel chairman Kate Berry said: “In relation to Cllr Armstrong-Braun calling Saltney a ‘backwater’ all evidence confirms the article was an accurate report of his words.
“His views were accurately reported.”
The panel said evidence supported claims he had called Cllr William Crawford a “moral degenerate” and a “coward”, a fact Cllr Armstrong-Braun had disputed.
Mrs Berry continued: “There was an impact on town council meetings run by Cllr Armstrong-Braun. There was a clash of personalities with Cllr William Crawford.
“It did have an impact from May 2008 onwards.”
Claims there was a campaign to try and get him to resign or to be defeated at the 2012 election by certain councillors were found to be untrue.
Mrs Berry said: “There is no evidence to suggest there was a secret campaign.”
The panel also found Cllr Armstrong-Braun did disclose information from a confidential meeting and there was no evidence to support claims derogatory comments were made by other councillors about St David’s High School.
Cllr Armstrong-Braun had disputed a number of the facts during the hearing and said some of the evidence was contradictory and in some cases there was very little written evidence.
Cllr Armstrong-Braun said of his behaviour as chairman of the meetings: “I did everything I could to go with the rules. Some people spoke all the time and other members did not speak. I wanted to let the others speak.”
Cllr Armstrong-Braun also claimed the investigation into the complaints against him by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) was biased.
He said: “Its lack of impartiality is appalling. It is a breach of my human rights.”
The panel will now decide if the matters amount to breaches of the councillors’ code of conduct.
If found guilty Cllr Armstrong-Braun faces a warning about his future conduct, a suspension as councillor of up to 12 months or a total ban on being or becoming a member of any relevant authority for up to five years.
The hearing continues today.