Perth City Council in Turmoil Amidst Suspensions and Unanswered Questions

Dysfunctional, diabolical, petty, immature — those are some of the choice words used to describe the state of affairs in the ranks of Perth's embattled capital city council in the past 48 hours.

But what isn't clear — and what the man leading the council through yet another turbulent era is not prepared to disclose — is exactly what seems to have gone so terribly wrong.

Despite months of bureaucratic probes, internal reviews and "leaking to the press", as the lord mayor suggested, it has been difficult for the public to get a clear picture of what has been going on behind closed doors and what will happen next.

Whispers of a toxic workplace and problems with the treatment of women staffers were the headlines of an independent report — but there are no specific allegations.

City of Perth chief executive Michelle Reynolds, who ordered that report, was suspended from duties on Tuesday night — or placed on "leave" as the Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds put it — but nobody knows why.

The state's local government inspector has formally put the council on notice, but for what is not known.

'Not ideal', lord mayor says

In an interview with the ABC, Mr Reynolds downplayed all the above, talking up a need to "keep a stable ship".

He argued the council had technically been "on notice" since he himself called in the inspector to address some of the council's woes some months ago.

He conceded the current situation was "not ideal" but said it was far from "diabolical", as Perth MP John Carey put it this week.

"You don't go into these things to have the city seen or portrayed in the light it is currently," Mr Reynolds said.

Mr Reynolds refused to say why the CEO had been suspended by a voting bloc of councillors on Tuesday night — something the CEO herself claimed she had been left wondering.

The lord mayor said it was a "fully confidential employee matter", and while he tried to call and sent her an email, he hadn't spoken to her.

Asked what improvements needed to be made, the lord mayor again wouldn't be drawn on specifics.

"Some people need to work on their collective teamwork approach, that's effectively the crux of it, that's the main issue," he said.

"People don't need to put in behavioural complaints for frivolous or vexatious reasons and I haven't put in one complaint, because I don't believe in complaints.

"If I've got an issue with someone, I'd rather talk to them about it."

Back from the brink

The City of Perth has a history of things going awfully wrong — in 2018, the entire council was stood down as the state government investigated claims of misconduct levelled at former lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi.

A subsequent inquiry found the culture of the city was characterised by self-interest, complacency, a lack of accountability and transparency and a lack of effective leadership.

"These traits have provided fertile ground for greed, incompetence and mismanagement to flourish," the inquiry panel chair wrote in his summary.

Before he was WA's Liberal leader, Basil Zempilas steered the ship for almost two terms in a stable first foray into local government that kept the infighting and controversy to a minimum.

The latest saga comes amid the backdrop of threats of wider reform of the state's sprawling local government sector, squarely put back on the agenda by the minister this week.

"I will not tolerate dysfunction and poor governance from any local government … absolutely amalgamations are back on the table," Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley said.

But it remains to be seen whether the council merger proposal is a serious policy or just bluster as exasperated ministers try to flex their authority.

Getting the house in order

Mr Reynolds says the council "absolutely" can get its house in order.

He successfully campaigned on keeping Perth city "safe, green, vibrant, connected and growing."

Safety was one of the biggest concerns at the October local government elections, with ratepayers demanding more policing, cameras and brighter streets.

But with the mayor refusing to talk specifics about this all-encompassing private spat that is seeping into the public, and the minister and inspector going to ground about what's happening, it's the ratepayers who are being left in the dark.