A north-east politician is calling for a colleague to quit the council after accusing him of failing to carry out his duties fairly.
Peterhead councillor Alan Buchan’s sensational request for Bill Howatson to step down as provost comes after his motion to full council last month – to break ground on a new secondary school in the town next year – was rebuffed.
In emails between himself and authority’s head of legal and governance, Geraldine Fraser, he has branded the provost’s decision to prevent a vote as undemocratic.
And last night, Mr Buchan reaffirmed his call for the provost to resign.
He said: “In the capital budget there’s Peterhead Academy being kicked into the 2023-2028 ‘wishlist’.
“So I put forward a motion which I am perfectly entitled to do, to bring Peterhead Academy into the 2018-19 capital budget.
“But immediately the provost said we weren’t allowing that.”
Since the meeting, Mr Buchan claims he has had no reply from Mr Howatson detailing why his motion was refused.
“The provost is supposed to be neutral,” he added.
“The whole council didn’t get a fair shake – not just me.
“He’s operated outside his remit and he has no choice but to resign. If you fail in your duties you resign.
“I would have lost the motion, probably, because the administration has the numbers. But the point is I’m entitled as a democratically elected councillor to put forward a motion.”
Aberdeenshire Council has already confirmed it would be moving ahead with proposals to build a new £71million facility in the port, but no start date has been identified for work to begin.
Yesterday, the provost said he had spoken the council about Mr Buchan’s comments.
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman added: “The motion request was not accepted as construction of the campus could not be brought forward within the timescale suggested.
“As such, the early allocation of funds could only have led to an imbalanced budget.”
