On the latest episode of the Local Government News Roundup:
Election woes continue for two councils, with failed mayoral elections and countbacks this week;
Councillors at Brimbank claim the working environment is unsafe;
Flags at half-mast after the death of a current councillor;
The latest mayoral election results;
Ryde City Council makes a decision on its expensive hole in the ground;
A call for the NSW government to commit to funding for a council demerger;
A Council takes action after an alarming number of attacks on its staff;
A councillor reprimanded for threatening to put a female officer across his knee;
and much more council news from around Australia and across the globe.
The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government.
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Stories in this episode (with links where available):
Victorian Roundup:
A second attempt at a mayoral election in Strathbogie Shire failed to get off the ground, with two councillors announcing they would not attend a reconvened meeting schedule for Tuesday afternoon.
Crs Chris Raeburn and Sally Hayes-Burke said they had notified Mayor Laura Binks that they would not participate in a vote for a new mayor, believing it to be even more damaging to the council’s already irredeemably damaged governance.
They have called on the local government minister Melissa Horne to act quickly and announce the outcome of a recent municipal monitor’s report.
Read their full statement here.
The same two councillors left the Council meeting last week before the mayoral election was due to be conducted, to the reported shock and disappointment of the mayor and fellow councillors.
Mayor Binks told ABC Radio last week that she was hopeful the reconvened meeting would proceed.
Cr Robin Weatherald also took to the airwaves, blaming the council’s situation on poor leadership and accusing the mayor of “acting like a schoolgirl.”
A third attempt to fill a vacancy on Glenelg Shire Council has failed to produce a result, with a former mayor and long-time councillor announcing that he won’t take up the opportunity to join the council.
A countback on Monday morning followed two attempts last week to fill the position vacated by former deputy mayor Jayden Smith.
After each of those countbacks, the successful candidates turned down the positions.
There were five remaining eligible candidates from the 2020 general election, and of these, former councillor of 23 years Geoff White was declared the successful candidate.
The 88-year-old told ABC News that he was too busy to take on the role.
The VEC is yet to announce when a fourth countback for the first vacancy will take place, while another countback is scheduled for next week to fill the remaining vacancy after the recent resignation of Chrissy Hawker.
There are just four candidates left in the pool from the last election, each of whom received between 1 and 3.5% per cent of the vote at that time.
A Star Weekly report this week has shed light on why Brimbank Council has struggled to achieve a quorum at recent council meetings.
A meeting last week was deferred after only 5 of the 11 councillors attended. At the deferred meeting the following day, five councillors did not attend but a quorum was achieved with a sixth councillor attending online.
It has now emerged that two councillors chose not to attend either meeting because they reportedly feel unsafe.
The concerns of Crs Virginia Tachos and Maria Kerr have reportedly arisen due to a recent incident, the details of which have not been made public.
The other three councillors to not attend the reconvened meeting were reported to be unwell.
Flags are at half mast in Glen Eira as mark of respect following the death of Cr David Zyngier.
Cr Zyngier’s passing was revealed in a statement on the weekend from mayor Anne-Marie Cabe, who said the news was shared with deep sorrow and a heavy heart.
He was elected to the council in Camden Ward at the 2020 election as a Greens candidate and was co-founder of the Glen Eira Emergency Climate Action Network; and a member of the Metropolitan Transport Forum.
Mayor Cade said Cr Zyngier had left an indelible mark on the organisation and community, and been a positive influence personally and professionally.
Vale Cr David Zyngier.
A new board has been elected for a two-year term at LGPro, the peak body for people working in local government in Victoria.
Liana Thompson and Sue Wilkinson have been re-elected and will continue as President and Vice-President respectively, with returned members Bruce Dobson and Chris Leivers taking on the Treasurer and Secretary roles.
Joining them on the board are Jen Bednar, Gail Gatt, Cathy Henderson, Sally Jones, Renae Littlejohn and Tanya Scicluna.
Another round mayoral elections occurred late yesterday.
They included Mansfield Shire Council, which elevated last year’s deputy Steve Rabie to the position of mayor. Mark Holcombe will serve as deputy mayor.
At Corangamite, a changing of the guard with Kate Makin taking on the mayoral role from Ruth Gstrein who has completed her sixth term as mayor. Laurie Hickey was elected as Deputy Mayor.
Alpine Shire Council last night re-elected John Forsyth as mayor unopposed.
Simon Keeley was elected as the Deputy Mayor of Alpine Shire.
Indigo Shire Council has re-elected Bernard Gaffney to the deputy mayor position for a one-year term.
Cr Sophie Price is now in the second year of a two-year term as mayor.
There were two candidates for mayor at the Rural City of Wangaratta. Dean Rees was elected to a sixth term as mayor, achieving an absolute majority of votes over the other candidate, Cr Dave Fuller.
Harvey Benton was elected to the position of Deputy Mayor in a two-way contest with former deputy Harry Bussell.
Still to come this week are mayoral elections at Nillumbik and Darebin; that will leave just Strathbogie and Wodonga to be determined, along with the deputy mayor position at Greater Shepparton.
Victorian Briefs:
Glen Eira City Council has set the date for a decision on the future of its council-operated early. learning centres. A proposal to close three centres in the municipality has prompted community opposition and media attention.
The decision will be made at a special council meeting set for 12th December at 7 pm.
Wellington Shire Council mayor, Cr Ian Bye, has been elected as the new Chair of peak regional body One Gippsland.
The group includes representation of all six Gippsland councils and other key region stakeholders.
Baw Baw Mayor Annemarie McCabe has been elected deputy chair of the group.
The Orbost Airport, managed by East Gippsland Shire Council, has won the title of National Small Regional Aerodrome of the Year for a second time.
East Gippsland shire-managed aerodromes have now been recognised for three consecutive years with a prestigious national industry award.
Some councils are making news around Melbourne this week.
Port Phillip council has been accused of a culture problem, with 9News reporting the claims of two former staff members who have alleged that street cleaning staff are encouraged to be lazy and complete far less work than they are paid for.
CEO Chris Carroll responded, saying the council promotes a culture of high-quality service delivery, and that performance is reviewed regularly using a range of tools.
At Darebin City Council, a decision to overturn a parking rule that has been in place for 20 years is being questioned.
The Age has the story of how a majority of councillors went against an officer recommendation and will now allow residents of newer homes to access on-street parking permits.
Some residents are concerned the change will lead to more parking scarcity and incentivise vehicle ownership over public transport and cycling.
And The Age reveals today that Melbourne’s three largest councils have nearly $100M rates in arrears between them, as inflation pushes more ratepayers into mortgage stress.
Its analysis of Hume, Casey and Wyndham’s financial statements shows that combined rates in arrears have grown by more than 80 per cent in three years.
National Roundup:
NSW:
Canterbury Bankstown councillor Khal Asfour has called for the state government to commit to paying the bill for a council demerger.
The cost of a demerger has been estimated in the order of $66M, and Cr Asfour wants all work on a demerger to stop until an iron-clad commitment is obtained from the state.
He put forward a motion for this week’s council meeting calling for an immediate halt to all work and financial spending on a de-amalgamation plan, estimating it would save more than $1M upfront on preparing a business case and poll.
He told the Daily Telegraph that residents are more concerned about cost of living issues, and that a demerger was not a community priority.
In related news, a new bill has been presented in parliament by Greens MLC Dr Amanda Cohn that is aimed at providing a pathway for councils to de-amalgamate.
If supported, the bill would help Cootamundra-Gundagai council in its bid to separate, having been given the approval of the Boundaries Commission and the former Local Government Minister.
The Boundaries Commission has invited submissions to a public inquiry into the Inner West Council’s business case for de-amalgamation.
A business case for a de-amalgamation of Snowy Valleys Council has also been referred to the commission by the minister, directing it to conduct an inquiry and report on the proposal.
A recommendation to sell the former Ryde Civic Centre site has been rejected by councillors.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the council voted narrowly last night to retain the vacant site and to defer construction on the site due to financial constraints.
Labor councillors reportedly wanted to retain the site but voted against the motion because of political claims about the previous Labor council and an accusation of misinformation.
The Herald report describes the meeting as heated, with debate about the council’s financial situation and conflicting reports that it was claimed have left the community confused.
An external investigation is ongoing into the use of restricted funds that were allegedly used for the civic centre project.
At last week’s LGNSW annual conference, local government delegates voted in favor of a motion supporting drag story time events in council facilities, as well as the implementation of gender-neutral facilities.
The motion for drag story time events was put forward by the City of Sydney, and aims to facilitate community-driven safety solutions for these events and ensure fair compensation for performers including when events are cancelled.
While the motion was passed, some country council delegates opposed it, with one describing the events an inappropriate indoctrination of young children, according to a report from the Daily Telegraph.
A motion put forward by the City of Parramatta to require all new toilets and change-rooms in parks and playing fields in NSW be “gender neutral” was also supported by a majority of delegates.
QLD:
A special meeting of Cairns Regional Council will be held today to appoint a new deputy mayor.
The appointment is required as Cr Terry James, who was the Deputy Mayor, was last week elected to serve as the city’s Mayor until the local government elections in March 2024.
This followed the resignation of Bob Manning as Mayor on Friday 17 November.
The CEO of Townsville City Council has called for community members to treat council team members with respect, after 63 reports of occupational violence against staff.
39 of those incidents have resulted in injury.
Prins Ralston said there had been incidents of staff members being punched, chased down by a car, assaulted and verbally abused just for doing their job.
Dr Ralston said the disrespectful behaviour will not be tolerated, as a new Respect to Staff campaign was launched.
The campaign will inform the community about the correct ways to raise any issues that theY may have with someone from the council.
At Toowoomba, a planned e-scooter trial has been paused until a budget review process determines if funding is available.
The council resolved last week to proceed with a 12-month trial in principle, but that it will depend on future budgetary priorities, with a decision not expected until some time next year.
An estimated $115K will be needed in the first year for procurement activities and running costs.
A community consultation process found an even split of people for and against running a trial.
TAS:
Hobart City Council is the latest to take a stance on the Israel Gaza conflict.
A notice of motion to Monday’s meeting was supported by the council, and Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds will now write to the Prime Minister calling for the Australian Government to uphold international law by seeking to broker a ceasefire in the conflict.
The motion also condemned the abhorrent acts by Hamas and what it described as the indiscriminate and disproportionate response by Israel
SA:
A community-led resilience program from Adelaide Hills Council has won a prestigious local government award from Resilient Australia.
The program was developed to address the aftermath of the Cudlee Creek and Cherry Gardens bushfires in January 2021.
Mayor Jan-Claire Wisdom said the award reaffirms that the organisation and community stand at the very forefront of resilience efforts in Australia.
National Briefs:
The City of Newcastle is trialling innovative new technology to improve parking management and safety in the city.
Licence plate recognition technology is mounted to the roof of an electric vehicle and is being used to assist parking officers in detecting illegal parking.
The council says the new measures will help provide a safer working environment for staff.
MidCoast Council is consulting on a plan for the conservation and long-term management of koala populations in the region.
The strategy helps to guide the Koala Safe Spaces program, funded by the state government, targeting a reversal in the decline of local koala populations.
There are renewed calls for public vigilance for the Red Imported Fire Ants, which have been detected at Murwillumbah.
Byron Shire Council has urged people to be on the lookout and report sightings to NSW DPI to help stop any further spread of the invasive species into NSW.
A Fire Ant Movement Control Area is in place within a five-kilometre radius of the nests found last weekend.
International Spotlight:
UK:
An English councillor has been found in breach of the council’s code of conduct when he reportedly said he would put a female officer over his knee.
Lichfield District Councillor Derick Cross has been directed to apologise in writing to the council officer and to have no written, verbal or physical contact with her for six months.
The complainant said the comment made her feel weird, awkward and uncomfortable, and a subcommittee of councillors agreed that it did not meet standards of accountability and leadership.
The subcommittee said it had imposed sanctions to reflect its unwavering stances on misconduct and a responsibility to uphold public trust.
A resolution has been reached in a long-running pay dispute in Scotland.
Council chiefs have welcomed the decision of UNISON members to accept an offer that will see local government staff paid a minimum £15 per hour by 2026.
Localgov.co.uk reports that nearly 70% of members voted to accept the deal.
The union says the bargaining process needs to be reviewed urgently to ensure future pay negotiations progress quickly and with as little disruption as possible.
Gloucester City Council has been reprimanded for poor cyber security monitoring measures, leading to an attack in December 2021 that compromised its systems and services.
It took the council months and an estimated £1M to deal with the attack, with all services needing to be rebuilt.
BBC News reported that the government’s data watchdog found the council may have been able to detect the attack and prevent it from spreading if it had a central logging system.
It has recommended a full review of the council’s backup and disaster recovery measures.
And a council in Suffolk has revealed it has been the victim of a scam, losing £52K – equivalent to a 0.5 per cent council tax increase.
West Suffolk Council said the complex scam involved the hacking of suppliers’ emails to send emails to customers, including the council.
It has updated its internal fraud response plan and taken other measures as a result of the fraud but said the crime was very hard to solve and prosecute.
NZ:
in Christchurch, the city’s chief financial officer has become the second high-ranking official to resign in as many weeks.
Radio New Zealand said the resignation of Leah Scales came on the same day a damning report into the city’s Three Waters department was released, and just days after the resignation of chief executive Dawn Baxendale.
A report from KPMG found that the council’s Three Waters department had dozens of unbudgeted positions, and had spent an estimated $6.5M over budget on staffing costs since July 2019.
The report said 26 roles had been created either without budget or documentation or with an approval process contrary to the wishes of the council.
Two days after the report came out, the council released an action plan to improve systems and prevent similar occurrences in the future.
And in more NZ senior executive news, the CEO of Waipa District Council has announced plans to retire after nearly 45 years in the organisation.
Garry Dyet has been CEO for 15 years and will step down in June next year.
His first role at the council was in 1980 as a health inspector, before moving into planning and ultimately an executive leadership career.
The council says a recruitment search will start in the new year.