Yarra City Council in Melbourne, and NSW’s Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council are making news today.
The Age reports on the end of Greens’ control of Yarra City Council, with news that the council’s longest serving member Amanda Stone is no longer a member of the Greens.
The report suggests that Cr Stone let her party membership lapse late last year, around the time the council voted to reduce the frequency of council meetings from fortnightly to monthly.
With the recent election of Michael Glynatis in a countback to replace new parliamentarian Gabrielle de Vietri, just three of the nine council positions are now held by Greens members.
The ABC has the story about an independent report on financial management at Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council, which has found a $15.8M gap between council budgets and actual expenditure over a five year period.
The report describes inadequate budgetary controls which have had a significant impact on available funding for future capital works and reserves.
Mayor Charlie Sheahan said the “unflattering” report provides a lot of good recommendations, with some already in place and others to be adopted immediately.
The NSW state government last week provided a timeline for a demerger of Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council, to take effect prior to local government elections in September 2024.