It's been one interesting week in Armidale, but it is worth reflecting on what has happened with our council this year.
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We have to go back almost four months ago to late January, when a group of councillors had decided the mayor should step down.
While the vote of no confidence passed, the mayor refused to resign.
"It is a vote that will forever set us apart, create distrust and puts personal agendas ahead of community needs," mayor Simon Murray said at the time.
Indeed it has, leading to the events of this week.
In the Land and Environment Court on Tuesday, Armidale Regional Council was granted a temporary injunction to stop five councillors voting to terminate the CEO's contract.
The matter will be back in court next month.
On Monday, the councillors had been set to vote at an extraordinary meeting, but six councillors submitted apologies after the council launched the legal action and were granted an injunction ahead of Tuesday's court hearing.
With no vote taking place until June, the fallout continued.
Ratepayers are asking how much the legal action is costing the council. And State MP Adam Marshall revealed he had contacted the Minister for Local Government to requested the Office of Local Government intervene to resolve the dysfunction.
Following this week's events the mayor said he would welcome intervention from the Office of Local Government to address the factional division.
The six councillors had requested this week's meeting in a letter to the mayor on April 28. But it wasn't their first attempt.
An extraordinary meeting had been held in March, with a motion had been put forward to terminate Mrs Law's contract. When the councillors left that meeting they were all furious (with each other), and the CEO was still there.
As mentioned, going back even further, it was the mayor who the disgruntled councillors had initially wanted gone rather than the CEO.
Cr Murray compared the councillors calling on him to resign as mutineers on a ship, throwing the captain overboard.
There appeared to be some hope of the council getting back on track, with talks of mediation between councillors in early February, but that hope did not last long.
The councillors then turned on the CEO later that month. And now it is set to drag on into June.
While it has been an eventful week, I hope everyone has a good weekend.
Laurie Bullock, editor
