PROPOSALS from the town's mayor to extend the term of office beyond one year and to change the wording of the rules that govern councillors' behaviour have been dismissed as "unnecessary" and "a waste of time".

At last week's monthly full town council meeting, Michael Barnes was also heavily criticised for spending £600 repairing the mayor's chain before seeking councillors' approval.

At the meeting a number of councillors appeared to become increasingly frustrated with Mr Barnes' approach to being chairman.

When Mr Barnes suggested a re-ordering of the agenda, Michael Biddiscombe said: "I have been ignored twice now while you have taken unsolicited comments from other councillors. If we change the order of the agenda any more we will start going round in circles."

Suggestions were made that rather than changing the process by which the mayor is selected, de-selection should be introduced for existing mayors.

Mr Barnes' difficulties began when he asked councillors to discuss the possibility of mayoral selection from a representative panel, and to extend the term of mayor beyond one year.

He argued that one year is insufficient to achieve all of the objectives in the council's annual management plan.

Ted Orchard told councillors: "I strongly oppose this. It is a waste of time."

He added that rather than changing the existing system of mayor selection, a "de-selection" process would be more useful.

Jackie Keen said that being elected mayor was a great honour, and for the benefit of the town, not for self gratitude.

She said: "The work of one mayor is carried on by the next, and each new person offers something unique to the position."

Mrs Keen said the council should not even be considering giving an extended term.

Mark Lelliot said there is already the opportunity for the council to re-elect a mayor for a second term, either successively or at a later date if they wished.

Stephen Mulliner said: "The council is adequately served by the existing system. These proposals are utterly undemocratic."

Discussion was equally heated when the repair work to the mayor's chain was raised.

The mayoral chain was damaged recently and Mr Barnes sought quotes from a number of firms before sending the chain to Exeter.

He said the company provided the fastest service, more local firms being unable to carry out the work until the new year.

The total cost was £595.75 exclusive of VAT and postage. The mayor is allowed expenditure of up to £600, but this must be approved first. His failure to do so drew widespread criticism.

The most vocal attack came from Ted Orchard, who raised the issue of the antique table purchased by the mayor in August from his wife's antique store with £600 of council money.

He accused the mayor of now twice breaking standing orders, the regulations that councillors must obey while in office. Mr Orchard said that the rules were there with good reason.

He explained: "Otherwise you could have a maverick mayor who could spend £600 on an antique chair for the council chamber, £600 on a halo, £600 on a crown, goodness knows what."

He said that the matter was not urgent and should have been referred to the appropriate committee first.

In response Mr Barnes said: "I could not have been more open on the subject. This was not a personal situation."

In attempt to avoid confrontation, Jackie Keen told fellow councillors: "We can't go on airing our our dirty linen in public. I believe it is detrimental to this council to do so in this manner."

The mayor's third major proposal of the evening to be condemned was the rewriting of the council's standing orders in a "plain English" style.

Mr Lelliot said: "I welcome the concept of plain English standing orders, but such documents are drafted by a national body.

"For us to formulate our own would create huge problems, not just in the amount of work it would require but also whether they would even be legal."

After the meeting Mark Lelliot told The Herald: "It was an unfortunate episode, a very unedifying evening.

Mr Lelliot said he had no criticism of Mr Barnes, but supported the view presented at the meeting that previous mayors' experience could be used to advise the existing mayor, to avoid the problems faced last week.

Town clerk Mike O'Neil told The Herald that he had no comment on the meeting.