Councillor Gareth Ward said he was concerned by the unknown cost of the project to ratepayers and that it would serve to deliver unbalanced news.

“It’s all about smothering the community in spin, that’s what worries me,” he said.

“The other reason I decided not to vote for it was because there was no proof given that it would be cost neutral.”

At Tuesday’s ordinary meeting council decided to publish several pages of council information and news in the fortnightly TV guide the Mail.

Council will employ a cadet communications officer to compile the material, with the cost of the project partially offset by savings from not advertising in regional newspapers.

On Tuesday Cr John Anderson denied that he had claimed the project would be cost neutral.

“I had only ever said the savings in advertising would contribute towards cost neutrality,” he said.

However Cr Ward questioned how much council would save, considering its legal obligations to publicise items in a timely fashion.

“This Mail will only come out fortnightly, so if something needs to be advertised within that two week period council would still be forced to advertise in publications that are published more frequently,” he said.

Cr Rebecca Rudd said the best way for council to better communicate with the community would be through improving its website.

General manager Russ Pigg said the cadet communications officer would work on the website.