We’re just eights months into the new term of council but already there appear to be some major divisions developing.

That’s not unusual in any political forum, but the problem for Bathurst is that the council seems to be shattering into several pieces rather than cracking in two.

The previous term of council was far from a united group but there was a tightly-knit group of five councillors that held the numbers on most issues and established some sense of stability. That does not appear to be the case this time.

Rather than a controlling group of five or more councillors inside the chamber, at present there appears to be three or more loose alliances that are often based more on a dislike of other councillors than any shared agenda of their own.

The current tensions came to a head behind closed doors on Wednesday night during a council working party meeting that discussed, among other items, the continuing saga of the Suttor, Mitre and Lambert street intersection at West Bathurst.

The discussion descended into a heated slanging match, including some fairly personal attacks.

The Western Advocate understands it was not pretty to watch and there may yet be more said about the meeting.

For now, though, we wait to see if those same tensions rise to the surface in a more public setting during the monthly meeting next week.

Councillors enter each public meeting determined to be on their best behaviour but anyone’s guard can drop once they start passionately discussing an issue of particular interest or concern.

It can be a difficult balancing act.

As ratepayers, we want to see our councillors actively engaged in debate within the chamber and we want them to show just how much they care about our city.

At the same time, though, we need stability within the chamber and we need a team of councillors committed to working together towards improving our city.

They may have different agendas but they should have a common purpose.

And when debate strays from the policy into the personal, then everyone must stop and take stock.

It is a long time until the next election and, until then, the nine councillors must find a way to work as an effective unit.