A BRIDGWATER Town Councillor claims he was removed from a meeting after challenging a £420k budget black hole.

Diogo Rodrigues (Con, Fairfax East) says he was asked to leave after questioning the Labour-controlled authority’s handling of a ‘devolution deal’, signed last month, which saw it take on responsibilities from cash-strapped Somerset Council.

In the weeks after the deal was signed, a projected £420,000 overspend for the current financial year was revealed, which the council says was due to a budgeting software error.

Cllr Rodrigues addressed the overspend – which the council says it will manage through a mix of reserves, increased income generation and savings – at a meeting of the council’s Finance and Corporate Services Committee on June 24.

However, he said not enough time was allocated for committee members to challenge the robustness of the proposed solutions, which prompted a disagreement – which led to him being asked to leave – which the council denies.

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He said the meeting was scheduled for 30 minutes, with 20 minutes taken up by the town chief executive presenting a report on the budget position, leaving 10 minutes for committee members to ask questions.

Cllr Rodrigues said he had prepared a series of questions aimed at addressing concerns over the council’s financial management but was prevented from asking them due to time constraints.

“The meeting did not allow for proper scrutiny,” he said. “If the council doesn’t allow for critical friends to challenge the robustness of the finances, which is taxpayer money, then the finances of the council will tumble.

“There were significant financial risks in the report that were not identified in the papers, and this is not acceptable.”

Cllr Rodrigues said he requested to extend the meeting, a move refused by chair Mick Lerry (Lab, Victoria), before the situation allegedly escalated when the chair began “wagging his finger” at Cllr Rodrigues – an act he said he found disrespectful.

However, a spokesperson for Bridgwater Town Council said the request for Cllr Rodrigues to leave the meeting was made to allow others to raise questions.

“The councillor in question was not removed from the meeting,” they said. “After extensive questions asked, the chair of the meeting told the councillor to ask further questions to town council officers after the meeting, in order to give other councillors the opportunity to ask their questions.

“After a debate between the councillor and the chair, the councillor in question was asked if he would leave the meeting and he agreed and duly did.

“If any councillor does have further questions that are not addressed during a meeting, they can ask officers in an open and transparent manner and the response will be shared.

“Bridgwater Town Council’s code of conduct ensures that councillors are treated fairly and consistently. During meetings it is important that all members show respect for other members and the authority of the chair.”

Cllr Rodrigues added: “It is acceptable to throw a councillor out of a meeting for aggressive behaviour such as finger pointing in someone’s face, but we should never throw a councillor out of a meeting for questioning huge financial errors.

“This is about ensuring transparency and accountability for the people we serve.”