A push to put Newcastle's potholes, footpaths and playgrounds ahead of bigger political issues has sparked a clash in the council chamber.
At a recent meeting, Newcastle councillors were divided over whether broader advocacy is part of the job or a drain on ratepayer resources.
Councillors backed an amended motion to prioritise local issues in future agendas over advocacy on state and federal issues.
Independent councillor Mark Brooker said his motion was not an "attack on advocacy" but an attempt to mitigate the amount of work landing on the desks of council staff.
"When we ask staff to allocate time to non-jurisdictional matters, we are actively choosing to divert them from the very things Newcastle residents call or email us about every single day: pot-holed roads, overgrown footpaths, sports facility upgrades, and playground maintenance," Cr Brooker said.
He pointed to the agendas of neighbouring councils such as Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens and Maitland, arguing they remained focused on the "sharp end mechanics" of local government.
In contrast, Cr Brooker said Newcastle's council agendas sometimes looked less like a local government business paper and "more like a Hansard transcript" from state or federal parliament.
The motion has called for a report detailing how much staff time and administrative costs have been spent on non-jurisdictional matters this year.
All three Greens councillors pushed back on the motion, with councillor Joel Pringle arguing it was inconsistent with the Local Government Act and that with an operating budget of $458.8 million, the cost of staff letter-writing was likely to be in the "hundreds, if not low thousands".
"What a waste of time, misdirected effort for that," Cr Pringle said.
Councillors were told that each time an advocacy letter is requested, it goes to a subject matter expert and through several hands before being sent.
Deputy lord mayor Charlotte McCabe said she was disappointed councillors felt it was important to look at the cost of sending a "handful of letters".
"I would like to point out that all councillors are regularly talking about, advocating for, voting on, issues that are to do with different levels of government, and that is because all three levels of government are inextricably linked," Cr McCabe said.
Labor councillor Peta Winney-Baartz said Newcastle is often looked upon for regional advocacy, but the ask is simple: to prioritise local issues in the chamber first.
"With the state election approaching, I think we need to be particularly careful that council business does not become a platform for political campaigns," Cr Winney-Baartz said.
"Our ratepayers expect us to focus on those core responsibilities: roads, footpaths, drainage, sporting facilities.
"We should absolutely advocate to the state and federal government for funding that Newcastle deserves, or the issues that people raise for us, but we should do it collectively and constructively, and without turning every issue into a political contest."
Councillors asked chief executive Jeremy Bath to order future agendas so that motions considering issues within the council's responsibilities are considered first.
