Yarra’s municipal monitor to remain in place for an additional three months.
That development leads this edition of the Local Government News Roundup.
Also today: a councillor to donate her allowance to local charities; a contentious social housing proposal voted down in Greater Shepparton; a CEO reappointed, while another is appointed and then unappointed in the space of a week; key outcomes from this week’s National General Assembly in Canberra; and a Council calls on the government to dismiss one of its councillors.
All that and more on today’s Local Government News Roundup, brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, your national broadcaster for all things local government.
Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast app or click on the corresponding entry on the list on this page.
Transcript with links:
Issue 134, LG News Roundup, 23rd June 2022
Yarra’s municipal monitor to remain in place for an additional three months.
That development leads this edition of the Local Government News Roundup.
Hello, I’m Chris Eddy and welcome to the program for 23rd June 2022.
Also today: a councillor to donate her allowance to local charities; a contentious social housing proposal voted down in Greater Shepparton; a CEO reappointed, while another is appointed and then unappointed in the space of a week; key outcomes from this week’s National General Assembly in Canberra; and a Council calls on the government to dismiss one of its councillors.
All that and more on today’s Local Government News Roundup, brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, your national broadcaster for all things local government.
The minister for Local Government Shaun Leane has extended the tenure of the monitor at the City of Yarra.
Yehudi Blacher was appointed last December to provide the Council with governance advice and progress reports to the minister.
The monitor has reported that progress has been made in governance practices, but he feels further guidance and work is needed. He says the council’s financial position is unsustainable, partly due to the impact of the pandemic on revenue, but also because of what he describes as ‘structural budgetary problems.’
Mr Blacher’s term will now expire in late September, and will enable support to be provided to the new CEO Sue Wilkinson who takes up the role next week.
Mr Blacher is one of six monitor appointments currently in place in Victoria. He previously served as municipal monitor at the City of Whittlesea before that council was dismissed in 2020.
Yarra City Council said yesterday that it was reviewing the monitor’s report; that it is committed to continuous improvement, and looks forward to continuing to work in partnership with Mr Blacher over the next three months.
https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/municipal-monitor-tenure-extended-yarra-city-council
Statement on Municipal Monitor’s report | Yarra City Council
Mornington Peninsula Shire councillor Despi O’Connor will donate her councillor allowance payable during a recent leave of absence to homelessness and mental health initiatives.
Cr O’Connor said she was unaware that her allowance was still payable whilst she was on leave to contest the recent federal election.
An amount of just over $12,000 in allowances accrued, which she said she feels uncomfortable accepting.
She has nominated a local homelessness support service and a mental health safety net program to receive the funds.
A former Gippsland councillor has appeared in court this week on animal cruelty charges.
Jeremy Rich was a councillor on South Gippsland Shire before the council was dismissed in 2019.
He represented himself this week when appearing on 22 counts of animal cruelty alleging failure to prevent flystrike from affecting his flock of over 2,000 sheep.
According to an ABC report, Mr Rich was warned by the magistrate about his conduct in the courtroom on a number of occasions.
The CEO of the City of Casey has been reappointed on a new 5 year deal.
Glenn Patterson’s initial four year contract was up in September, and the new deal takes effect on the 17th of that month.
Casey is currently under administration, and Chair Administrator Noelene Duff said it was a unanimous decision of the council to reappoint Mr Patterson.
https://www.casey.vic.gov.au/news/council-reappoints-casey-ceo-glenn-patterson
At Greater Shepparton this week, a contentious proposal for a social housing development above a car park has been rejected by the council, after receiving more than 700 submissions opposing it.
The proposal was predicated on the council selling the airspace above the car park to Wintringham and BeyondHousing for $1.
The Shepparton News reported on the debate in the chamber, which at times became emotional as councillors defending council staff who had reportedly been targeted by intimidation from some members of the community over the proposal.
Ultimately, the Council voted against the proposal, but later supported the sale of land for a separate 45 dwelling social housing project for vulnerable women and children.
Briefs:
Applications have opened for the latest round of TAC local government grants, which fund projects aimed at reducing death and serious injury in pedestrians and cyclists. Councils can apply for grants of up to $30,000 for analysis projects, and up to $100,000 for infrastructure projects – on a 1:1 contribution basis.
https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/new-wave-lga-grants-address-local-road-safety-issues
Cardinia Shire has adopted a new local law regulating open air fires outside of the declared fire danger period. The local law has undergone considerable changes as a result of the community consultation process, and applies regulations according to three zones, rather than zoning and land use as previously. The new local law takes effect on the 1st July.
Open-air fires local law adopted by Council
Ballarat City Council has introduced a series of environmentally sustainable minimum standards for planning, and from this week has an OPLE officer embedded in its staff. The Officer for the Protection of Local Environment is provided under a collaboration agreement with the Environment Protection Authority, and is one of a number in place around the state. The Ballarat Courier reports that the council has also appointed a new coordinator for sustainable environment.
(Ballarat Courier, 18-6-22, p.5)
And applications have opened for the role of Executive Director at Local Government Victoria, the role held by Julie Reid until earlier this year, and currently filled on an interim basis by Sarah Harbidge. Recruitment is being managed by Davidson.
Still to come – key outcomes from this week’s National General Assembly in Canberra;a CEO is appointed and then unappointed in the space of a week; a Council calls on the government to dismiss one of its councillors; and CEO and elected representatives scandals in the news in the UK and the US.
You’re listening to the Local Government News Roundup for 23rd June 2022, brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association.
The much anticipated Better Disagreements, Better Teams session scheduled for last week was unfortunately postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. But the good news is that it will now take place on Friday 5th August.
Melissa Scadden of Justitia Lawyers and Consultants will delve into the characteristics of effective teams that create an environment for better disagreements. And how disagreements can be used to create better teams.
Elected representatives and council staff from around Australia are invited to be part of this special online session. Register now at vlga.org.au/events.
Now for some stories making news around Australia in local government this week:
In news out of this week’s National General Assembly in Canberra, the nation’s councils have expressed support for the people of Ukraine.
The congress heard from the Ukraine Ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko, who shared video messages from mayors of cities across Ukraine describing the challenges arising from the Russian invasion.
After the address, the congress unanimously passed an urgent motion of solidarity, and support for the peace, security and stability in Ukraine.
The congress also heard from Nationals Leader, David Littleproud, who said excluding local government from National Cabinet was a mistake of the previous government.
ALGA President Linda Scott welcomed the growing support for including local government in national decision-making, with attendance at one in four meetings of National Cabinet confirmed recently.
Cr Scott said ALGA would be pursuing ongoing membership of the forum, and seeking full voting membership at all future meetings.
The new Federal Local Government Minister, Kristy McBain, was present at a number of Congress sessions this week, and received a very warm welcome as a former mayor and councillor.
A hot topic of discussion with the Minister was the funding model for local government, with ALGA releasing modelling that shows Australia to have the second lowest government expenditure as a percentage of GDP in the OECD.
Commonwealth funding of local government has dropped to 0.53% of commonwealth revenue from 1.2% in 1993.
Minister McBain told the Australian that she is planning on creating new, equitable and transparent funding programs to address inequities from programs like the Building Better Regions Fund.
She also said she had talked to dozens of mayors and councillors, with disaster relief and resilience a clear major focus for councils.
(The Australian, 21-6-22)
LGNSW has welcomed a decision to allow 86 NSW councils to increase their rates by 2.5%, through special rate variations announced by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal.
The decision follows the setting of a baseline rate cap of 0.7%, dispite surging inflation, soaring fuel and commodity prices and flood recovery and repair costs.
LGNSW President Darriea Turley acknowledged the intervention of local government minister Wendy Tuckerman that has meant many councils won’t be forced to make difficult choices around cuts to jobs and services.
She also said that with over three quarters of councils seeking a special rate variation, it was clear that the rate cap methodology is broken, and she urged the state government to make sure the upcoming review delivers a system that works.
Meanwhile, the peak body has commented on the latest state budget, which it says contains limited good news for local government.
It has welcomed allocations towards building industry reforms, prevention of domestic violence, and a new biodiversity credit supply fund.
https://www.lgnsw.org.au/Public/News/News22/06/0622-positive-budget-announcements.aspx
Regional Cities NSW has reacted positively to the budget, welcoming a $9M commitment to attract workers to the regions, as well as other regional investments for infrastructure, health services, digital connectivity, housing and other regional needs.
https://mailchi.mp/9b7230d37e7b/regional-cities-new-south-wales-and-nsw-government-sign-mou-16522048
The Queensland government has also released its budget this week, and the local government peak body says the most critical asks from councils have not been met.
LGAQ President Mark Jamieson said it was disappointing the Works for Queensland funding had not been restored to $100M a year, and is expected to drop to $70M next year and $30M the year after.
It has however welcomed budget funding for critical water and wastewater infrastructure, disaster recovery, State Emergency Service and payments to councils to offset the cost of the waste levy on household bills.
SA’s City of Onkaparinga will go back to the market for a new CEO, after deciding not to proceed with the previously announced appointment of Alistair Dawson to the position.
A community and staff uprising led to the Council reconsidering the appointment, due to previous social media comments by Mr Dawson in relation to Grace Tame.
The Adelaide Advertiser reports that residents were planning a public rally to protest the appointment. The council has headed off the action by holding a confidential session of Council on Tuesday and mutually agreeing with Mr Dawson not to proceed.
It says its costs are limited to preliminary relocation costs of less than $10,000.
Julia Grant will continue as Acting CEO until after the November Council elections, when the recruitment process will be recommenced.
(Adelaide Advertiser, 21-6-22)
Tasmania’s Waratah-Wynyard Council has passed a no-confidence motion in one its Councillors, who was found guilty of sexual offences earlier this year and placed on a sex offenders register for two years.
Cr Darren Fairbrother has so far refused to resign, despite calls to do so from fellow councillors, the local media and community members.
The passing of the no-confidence motion is symbolic, and the Council has no power to force Cr Fairbrother to resign. According to an ABC report, the Council has asked the Minister for Local Government to intervene and remove him from office.
The Minister’s office has confirmed that he does not have the power to remove a councillor, and noted that there are multiple code of conduct complaints against the councillor currently.
Cr Fairbrother has indicated that he has written to the Tasmanian Premier alleging a miscarriage of justice with the magistrate’s decision.
https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/101167118
Briefs:
Bland Shire in NSW has appointed a new General Manager this week. Grant Baker will take up the position on 1st August, making the move to West Wyalong from Blayney Shire where he has been Infrastructure Director.
The Council received 8 applications for the position from NSW and interstate.
The redevelopment of the entry to Adelaide Railway Station has won the 2022 City of Adelaide Prize, an annual award recognising a project that enhances the public experience of the city.
The project came out on top from a field of 9 finalists, and was also voted the People’s Choice winner.
https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/media-centre/winner-of-the-2022-city-of-adelaide-prize/
A new local law banning fishing for sharks has come into force this week at the City of Fremantle. The ban is a response to community concerns about shark fishing at popular beaches, and includes practices that attract sharks to where people swim.
The penalty for illegal fishing activities is $500.
https://www.fremantle.wa.gov.au/news-and-media/fremantle-shark-fishing-ban-force-next-week
Nominations have opened this week for the 2002 National Awards for Local Government. Councils are encouraged to nominate outstanding projects across eleven award categories.
Nominations close on the 3rd August, with the winners to be announced in October.
Now for today’s International Spotlight:
In England, an independent investigation has been commissioned to look at allegations against a council CEO in relation to international travel and allegedly unlawful expenditure.
ChronicleLive describes an extraordinary meeting of Northumberland County Council last week as explosive, as a critical report into governance was discussed.
The council’s CEO Daljit Lally reportedly travelled to Dubai on seven occasions in a two year period at a cost of the council of almost £20,000. The trips were in connection with the council’s international health consultancy business, about which concerns have also been raised as to its legality.
And in London, a deputy mayor has apologised for breaking lockdown rules in 2020 when he attended a prayer meeting in a private garden.
The BBC says the newly appointed deputy mayor of Luton, Asif Masood, has made a donation to local charities and promised to use his new position to rebuild trust and serve the town.
The incident in July 2020 was reviewed by a council adjudication panel, but no formal sanctions were imposed as its code of conduct only applies when councillors act in an official capacity.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-61892733
In the USA, a city mayor is under pressure to step down after a review concluded he had allegedly used his position for personal benefit and business interest.
Chris Swanson, the mayor of Two Harbors City Council in Minnesota, is the subject of a recall vote after a group of petitioners raised a range of issues relating to use of position and information and alleged conflicts of interest.
Despite there being a recall election scheduled for August, councillors this week have voted unanimously for him to resign. As with the local example at Waratah-Wynyard, the councillors have no authority to fire the mayor, but as the Duluth News Tribune says, there is a clear message that they want him out.
Two Harbors City Council pressures mayor to resign – Duluth News Tribune
And in California, the city of Anaheim may be without a mayor until November because the council members reportedly cannot agree on appointing someone to fill the position.
According to a report in the Orange County Register, the mayoral seat became vacant last month when former Mayor Harry Sidhu resigned after it became known he was under FBI investigation over allegations relating to campaign donations.
The council has met twice to consider appointing someone to the mayoral position without success. They will revisit the issue in July.
Anaheim will be mayor-less until next election this fall – Orange County Register
That’s the latest from the Roundup, thanks to the Victorian Local Governance Association, your national broadcaster for all things local government. Subscribe to VLGA Connect on YouTube and podcast for regular sessions with local government identities and decision makers.
I’ll be back with more news from around the world of local government on Wednesday. Until then, thanks for listening and bye for now.