Masterton Mayor Gary Caffell is raising concerns about increasingly aggressive and threatening behaviour being directed at Council staff.

“As Mayor of Masterton, I am in the privileged position of seeing and hearing about the very best of our community. It makes me proud to represent our District,” Mayor Caffell said.

“Unfortunately, and it seems increasingly, I also hear reports of unacceptable behaviour targeted at our Council staff.

“Being elected to Council comes with a certain level of criticism, and we should rightly be held to account for the decisions we make on behalf of ratepayers and the broader community. However, Council staff are sometimes being targeted personally based on these decisions.”

Mayor Caffell, who has spoken about derogatory commentary made on social media in the past, says Masterton District Council staff have been subject to combative and aggressive in-person behaviour in places such as the Masterton District Library and customer services offices.

“Some staff members are being directly approached and verbally or physically assaulted when out in public. This is completely unacceptable.

“All staff here at Masterton District Council are members of our Wairarapa community. They are all real people, with real lives outside of work. They pay rates. They want what the rest of the community wants. But mostly, particularly for those staff who regularly deal with the public, they want to be able to work without the threat of aggressive, abusive or violent behaviour.

“I urge our community to think about how they would want themselves, their family members, or their friends to be treated by others, and model that when they’re dealing with our hard-working Council staff.”

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