A Redlands councillor has lashed out at claims the council is a “wonderful place to be”, following the resignation of its mayor, who alleged a culture of bullying and intimidation.
In an interview with this masthead, councillor Wendy Boglary said the council’s longstanding cultural issues had only worsened in recent times.
“Staff feel that if they are making a presentation to council – which is based on data and research and they are qualified – they can be ridiculed and even laughed at,” she said.
“Their reports are heavily criticised, maybe even with expletives.
“I know over the years we have lost staff because they just don’t feel they are valued.”
Boglary has served on the council for 18 years, and was an ally of now former mayor Jos Mitchell.
She said the culture at the council was distressing, and she felt she had borne the brunt of inappropriate behaviour, which she said, “can be 24/7”.
Boglary said a 2025 state government decision to remove bad councillor conduct as an offence to be investigated by the Office of the Independent Assessor had only made matters worse.
“People who like to use intimidation and belittling of others … The floodgate has opened now for them to go for it,” she said.
Boglary raised the issue at a public state government inquiry into councillor conduct laws last month, and said the issue was not contained to Redlands, which often led the state in such complaints.
Mitchell previously said she had been the subject of about 70 complaints to the OIA, which she claimed was used as a political weapon to overwhelm her with related paperwork.
At a press conference following Mitchell’s resignation, Redlands chief executive Louise Rusan rejected claims of a culture problem at the council.
“I believe we have a very good culture,” she said.
“We have wonderful officers, and if you look at our general meetings, you can see that we’re making quality decisions by the councillors. I would say we’re a very good organisation.”
But Boglary’s claims were supported by a Redland City Council worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss internal matters.
“I’m embarrassed to say I work at Redland City Council,” the worker said.
They said quality staff had either left or been pushed out of the council, and many more were looking for an exit.
For example, since the 2024 election, five members of the respected ethics and integrity unit has left the council in one way or another.
The worker said remarks about council having a positive culture were met with cynicism by staff.
“Most people would see the culture at Redland City Council as dysfunctional. They see concerns raised by staff about how the council is operating are ignored,” they said.
“There is a perception – or it certainly looks like – there is a cabal at the top of the organisation that is a collusive block between certain councillors and senior executives.”
The worker said it was clear that Mitchell had been excluded by certain staff.
“Everyone could see it, it was obvious to staff that the mayor was being iced out.”
They said staff members were fearful of raising issues, and those who did were treated as if they were the issue.
“It’s a culture of inequity, of the senior levels of the organisation looking after themselves and in the interest of certain councillors, and that comes at the expense of the staff that are working hard to make this work on a day-to-day basis.”
A byelection for a new Redlands mayor is under way, with the postal vote closing on December 12.
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