The meeting, called to discuss recommendations related to the new entity of NERAM Limited, descended into chaos when Crs Brian Chetwynd, Bev Roobol and Margaret Walford staged a walkout over the first item on the agenda.

A report from general manager Shane Burns said in the past, operations of the art museum had been absorbed into the operations of the NERAM Reserve Trust.

He said a stand-alone entity to administer the museum operations should have been formed.

As a result, art collection assets were incorrectly shown on the books of the reserve trust.

Mr Burns said the registrar at NERAM was able to demonstrate the collections were never part of the assets of the reserve trust.

It had been agreed the mistake could be corrected by council rectifying the accounts by resolution.

He recommended council pass a resolution authorising the adjustment to the assets on the balance sheet.

Mr Burns told The Leader yesterday three councillors had expressed concerns over the report, which they said should have included legal accounts and financial

statements.

“If they had stayed around long enough I might have been able to explain to them that because the financial year had not yet ended, those statements are not yet prepared,” he said.

Mr Burns said the dissenting councillors also questioned the second part of the item, which recommended council facilitate the transfer of the Coventry and NERAM art collection assets to the rightful owner – the newly formed NERAM Limited.

“They wanted to know if NERAM Limited had been formed or whether they have held a meeting and really it’s none of their business,” he said.

“However the fact is, they (NERAM Limited) have been formed, they have met and I would not have put up these recommendations if they were not.”

The walkout of the three councillors, as well as the absence of two other councillors who had declared a conflict of interest, left the meeting without a quorum.