We’ll have a good council when…

WE WILL know within a week who was successful as our new councillors for our shire. It will take a little longer to see whether the new councillors have been able to genuinely take charge of Council and chart a new and positive direction for it. To restore genuine and widespread confidence and trust in it.

There will be early signs of a successful Council when and if they restore basic democratic rights, transparency, and accountabilities. When they have the courage and commitment to democracy to restore an open Question Time at Council meetings without questions being vetted for approval by the mayor and or senior staff.

When they have the courage to reopen briefing sessions to the public as was previous practice for decades and broadcast them for transparency as Mornington Shire is now doing. Rather than, it appears, to be making decisions in briefing sessions against legal directives. When they act to clear up the documented allegations of improper procurement procedures.

We should be looking for our representatives to immediately pass motions demanding the release of the still secret, two independent audit reports that identified 40 areas for improvement in the 
procurement system to meet legal requirements and a demand that staff through the CEO confirm which if any of these areas for improvement have been implemented.

When the Councillors demand the restoration of full financial reporting including the 15-year capital works plan as was the case previously and to start to report on where capital works are being spent over time for equity.

We will know there is meaningful change when the Council Plan is developed by the community and unlike last Council’s Plan does not exclude key recommendations from the community advisory panel’s recommendations.

More importantly for all of us in the end will the councillors demand that rates are frozen for four years which is more than financially possible. Particularly if you reduce capital works back to the long-term average of $17m vs current $32m p.a. and exclude the $32m for the municipal precinct. The State Government Wheeler Report on Rates for Small Councils says that after a population reaches 30,000 rates per assessment in Victoria have declined because of lower asset load per assessment unlike rates at South Gippsland Shire which continue to rise at a time of serious cost of living crisis.

Progress is measured by genuine partnerships between community, councillors, and staff. By a real commitment and practice of openness, accountability, and transparency. But such partnerships must be driven ultimately by our representatives. The councillors as genuine policy setters rather than rubber stamping decisions on the advice of senior staff.

Finally, we will know the council is performing when the meetings genuinely have debate in the Council chamber and the meetings last more than one hour vs an average of 2.5-3 hours in the previous Council.

Without these signs it will be business as usual, the tail (council senior staff) wagging the dog (supplicant councillors), and democracy will continue to be curtailed. We can live in hope!

Andrew McEwen, Korumburra