Logan City councillor Lisa Bradley has resigned from her plum budget role, saying democracy has been lost and that she will not put her name to decisions that are politically charged.
Her resignation is the first sign of splits and disagreements within the new Logan City Council.
Cr Bradley told council that she had repeatedly asked for help and that people outside council had noticed how she had been treated.
"In the role of chairperson of City Governance Committee, part of the portfolio is the budget I cannot consciously put my name to matters where I feel items are politically charged and democracy has been lost," she said at last week's meeting.
"I have based my decision on a number of events, and I have felt my morals and integrity boundaries have been pushed to the limit.
"I feel I have been put in vulnerable positions, despite repeated requests for assistance."
The council was formed after the local government election in March and followed a disastrous period in which the previous council was stood down by the state government amid a raft of charges against former councillors and mayor Luke Smith.
Cr Bradley vowed to continue serving her constituents without fear nor favour as she stepped down from her role.
She said she was leaving the post, as discussions on next year's budget would soon start.
Her decision comes just weeks after council revealed it had turned around the operating budget from a $200,000 deficit into a $7 million surplus.
At the time she said the council had been chewing into savings to keep the lights on.
An emotional Cr Bradley, who was at the helm of the committee when council handed down the $944.2 million budget in July, said it was a tough choice to resign.
"My decision has not come lightly, and is definitely not a reflection of the great work our mayor is doing for the city," Cr Bradley said.
"...Whilst I cannot determine the driving force that are creating these feelings in me, I have had a number of members of the public say they have noticed how I have been treated."
Cr Bradley refused to elaborate on her comments made in council when she spoke to the Jimboomba Times, but said she was proud the city was in the black.
"Oh God yeah. We could have gone into a budget deficit, but I was adamant that no, that would not happen.
"But that is all I will say."
She thanked her constituents for voting her in March.
"I will continue to represent them to the best of my ability without fear or favour," Cr Bradley said.
Division 2 councillor Teresa Lane paid tribute to her colleague.
"I would like to say thank you to Lisa Bradley for being the chair of the City Governance Committee for the first portion of our term," Cr Lane said. "I think that she led the committee quite well and we were very saddened to hear that she was resigning as chair.
"It takes a lot of fortitude to actually to work on a budget.
"It's not the easiest thing in the world, and her assumptions about the way in which things travel may not always be the case.
Cr Lane thanked Cr Bradley for her tenure.
"She did serve this city with absolute distinction as the city governance chair, and her residents are very well served by her," she said.
The committee will vote in a new chairperson next year. Division 11 councillor Natalie Willcocks is the deputy chairwoman.
