1News can reveal more details into the struggles between Gore's youngest ever mayor and the council's chief executive, with the CEO saying the situation was "irreparable".
The 28-page minutes from the extraordinary public-excluded committee meeting on March 28 was released to 1News under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.
Confidential information from that meeting was leaked publicly last month revealing the extent of the rift between mayor Ben Bell and council CEO Stephen Parry.
That led to councillors seeking an independent review of the council's governance.
Councillors voted unanimously for the review to go ahead on Tuesday night with the finer details still being worked out including the terms of reference.
It was during the Chief Executive's Appraisal Committee meeting on March 28 where the working relationship woes were first revealed to councillors.
Mayor Ben Bell read a statement addressing the relationship breakdown saying he was "sorely disappointed and hurt" by the situation, and felt that he had "done absolutely everything in my power to try and fix this relationship".
Bell said the issue "had gone unresolved since November" last year.
The pair underwent mediation in December and hoped for a "roadmap" forward but that did not eventuate.
"I have tried my utmost to be patient and professional... I have tried time and time again to make this work... and feeling like a council of one," Bell said.
Bell left the meeting before councillors could ask questions.
The minutes say councillors were disappointed that the mayor did not stay.
The chief executive, Stephen Parry, then entered the meeting twenty minutes later and told the committee "the relationship had broken down" and was "irreparable". He said it had been a truly dreadful time.
Parry said he was shut out and excluded from many decisions.
The minutes read: "For example, the proposed committee structures, when he could have given advice but wasn't asked for nor would it had been received."
Parry added there were only two conversations one-on-one in the space of eight weeks.
"You could not run a Council on that basis."
He said the matter had been "enormously hard on him" and that "he battled on and tried to remain positive and professional despite the provocative circumstances and shambolic behaviour on display".
Councillors 'disappointed' Bell left meeting
Councillor Bret Highsted told the meeting, he "felt uncomfortable commenting without Mayor Bell being present".
"There were two people at play" the minutes read.
"He would have liked to have said that to his face."
Highsted abruptly resigned just a week later after this meeting because he had found the council environment "highly stressful and the levels of anxiety unsustainable".
He was in his sixth term.
Councillor Phillips said he "felt annoyed about the issue".
"How can we move forward as a team if the Council could not ask questions of the Mayor?" he said.
Councillor Reid went on to say "everyone understood he was new to the job, but at some point it had to be resolved".
It was in this meeting an intermediary was appointed to increase the communications between the mayor and chief executive as a short term solution.
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