The accusation came from council corporate services chairman Frank Dooley.
Cr Birchfield — the former West Coast Regional Council (WCRC) chairman — was censured by the council last year and excluded from major committees for allegedly leaking employment information.
But he has made a point of trying to attend meetings from which he is banned, claiming a right to be there as an elected councillor.
Cr Birchfield fronted up to last Tuesday’s corporate services meeting, which was set to scrutinise and recommend the adoption of the council’s 2023-24 annual report.
Shortly after the meeting opened, Cr Dooley excluded the public and ordered the livestream video to be turned off, saying councillors were going into a workshop session with the council’s external auditor.
"I believe that was an abuse of process," Cr Birchfield said on Thursday.
"The published agenda said it was an ordinary meeting — no mention of a workshop. Frank closed it, shut out the public and threatened to call the police to get rid of me."
"There was a shouting match — he was yelling at me to get out. I told him to shut up and he was telling the chief executive to call the police to throw me out. It was a stand-off," he said.
Cr Dooley later defended the need to exclude the public from the discussion with the auditor and criticised Cr Birchfield’s behaviour.
"He is grandstanding — Allan knows why he’s censured. It’s all very unfortunate," Cr Dooley told LDR.
Cr Dooley confirmed he asked Cr Birchfield to leave the meeting.
"Once we were in public-excluded, I reminded Mr Birchfield he was not a member of the committee and had no right to take part in it."
Cr Birchfield said he strongly denied grandstanding.
"That’s the pot calling the kettle black.
"I’m turning up because I need to be at these meetings to do the job I was elected to do for the ratepayers."
He had to be privy to the council’s accounts and the auditor’s views since he would have to vote on them when the annual report came up for adoption this week by the full council, Cr Birchfield said.
"I should be able to hear what our auditor thinks and have a say."
He had been asked to attend last Tuesday’s meeting by Cr Brett Cummings and left only because Cr Cummings agreed he should do so, he said.
Cr Cummings has previously told LDR he feels the council’s 18-month censure of Cr Birchfield was excessive.
Cr Birchfield said he had filed a complaint with the ombudsman about his continued exclusion from council business.
He had also commissioned an independent analysis of the council’s accounts so he could view them, Cr Birchfield said.
"I’m not in this for the publicity — it’s pretty stressful, to keep trying.
"I’m just trying to do my best for the people who elected me and I believe they have a right to know what I think about where their money’s going," he said.
— Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter
— LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
