Following a formal motion moved by Cr Mark Harris to review capital works projects like the Gatekeeper\u2019s Cottage and the Botanic Gardens\u2019 Fernery, as well as the procurement of a chandelier, the accountancy firm undertook an independent review of councillor expenses and related projects.<\/p>\n
However, Ms Dore said she would not reveal the complete findings of the report until council\u2019s next term.<\/p>\n \u201cI have discussed the report being tabled at tonight\u2019s meeting and [a City of Ballarat] director has strongly urged me to provide it to the [Local Government] Inspectorate as a risk management strategy for both council, myself and other staff,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe key points from the report are the need to improve internal systems relating to procurement \u2026. which are clearly not serving councillors as well as they should.<\/p>\n \u201cI certainly intend to be able to report back to the next council after I refer the report to the local government municipal inspectorate.\u201d<\/p>\n A recommendation by Ms Dore said the City \u201cassess and where possible strengthen various policies that relate to councillor activities and expenditures as well as addressing the procurement policy and procedure followed by management when dealing with Councillor requests and expenditures.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Why wasn\u2019t the review made public?<\/strong><\/p>\n Cr Harris said while he recognised the relevant processes necessary for such a report, he was disheartened to find out that the current council were not to receive the details.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m disappointed we didn\u2019t get a report back to this council,\u201d he said. \u201cParticularly at the time of electoral cleansing, it seems the perfect time to have that sunlight.\u201d<\/p>\n Cr Amy Johnson also expressed a desire to have further information put in the public record ahead of next month\u2019s election.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is exactly the right time for it to be released so that residents have access to information to make an informed decision about who they have represent them on council,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n With October\u2019s vote looming, Ms Dore said the findings of the report could be used in election campaigning in a damaging way.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is potential for misuse which is exactly why I\u2019m referring it to the inspectorate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of staff, and a councillor, that is involved, that\u2019s certainly where it relates to internal matters in the organisation that should not be published and I am really seeking guidance from the inspectorate.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not appropriate to show the full report until the inspectorate has looked at it.\u201d<\/p>\n Although withholding the report could damaging to at least one sitting councillor, several others spoke against the move, in part to protect their public perceptions.<\/p>\n \u201cNot being privy to the report or its contents \u2026 the inference is then we could all be construed or perceived to be part of the culture behaviour and actions,\u201d Cr Hudson said.<\/p>\n \u201cI would certainly like going into the period of the next few weeks to stand on merit and saying integrity is the foundation of my running for office.<\/p>\n \u201cThis cloud will hang over the final weeks of this council.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Who was the councillor in question?<\/strong><\/p>\n Although Mr Dore made no mention of specific council officers or councillors, she described the issues identified by the review as \u201clow level of transgression of policy\u201d and \u201ca simple local government matter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe kinds of things that occurred that might have been of concern such as business planning and project approvals, as well as some reasonable minor purchases were not well developed by the administration,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n While no councillor was named specifically in the review\u2019s excerpts, after the meeting Cr Hudson said, \u201cpeople are probably able to make their own conclusions from the references made in the report.<\/p>\n \u201cShould there be a level of protection because there was an election process, I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n \u201cIndividuals have to own their own behaviour \u2026 [but] people are presumed to be innocent until proven otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n Cr Samantha Mcintosh has been a strong advocate for the Gatekeeper\u2019s Cottage and Fernery projects and was mentioned indirectly in May\u2019s State Ombudsman\u2019s report in regard to what\u2019s described as a \u201cFlemish chandelier\u201d for town hall.<\/p>\n Also speaking after the meeting, and in context of the CEO\u2019s decision to refer the information to the inspectorate, Cr Tillet said it was grossly improper to discuss the contents of the review.<\/p>\n \u201cAt best, the information we are talking about at the moment is heresy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of the operational issues, buying a chandelier if one had been bought or approving money for the Gatekeeper\u2019s Cottage out of some slush fund \u2026 can only have been done by officers, it cannot be done by councillors even the mayor.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are taking advantage of this to the determent of the good name of Samantha McIntosh which is a disgrace.\u201d<\/p>\n Cr McIntosh was given several opportunities to comment as part of this report but did not.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What does this mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n With unease in the air on the eve on an election, Ms Dore reassured councillors that these findings are at no fault of the council.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no inference on the council of decisions that have been made,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are rectifying issues, and it\u2019s being handled in the accordance to good practice.\u201d<\/p>\n Before voting on Ms Dore\u2019s report, mayor Cr Ben Taylor reminded the council that inappropriate behaviour of any sort should not be accepted in any organisation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to learn from this, not just this council, but any council following around what\u2019s acceptable behaviour,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n While majority of the council were staunch in their opposition of being denied a viewing of the report, the motion passed with the amendment that the CEO was to refer the report to the inspectorate.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So what\u2019s the deal with the Halliday report?<\/strong><\/p>\n Mixed in with the Pitcher Partners report machinations were early detailed of a second report, known as Susan Halliday\u2019s culture review of the municipality.<\/p>\n Although not yet public, Ms Dore revealed some of the findings of Ms Halliday\u2019s report following a question from deputy-mayor Cr Belinda Coates.<\/p>\n Ms Dore said that the report found a lot of poor practice, which wasn\u2019t at all surprising considering the State Ombudsman\u2019s earlier report.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great pity that these issues weren\u2019t covered substantially in that report and they have had to be raised again in the public arena,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are staffing matters, they include bullying, assault, sexual harassment, improper procurement \u2026 and there have been two investigations as a result of what Ms Halliday has found.<\/p>\n \u201cThe themes coming out of the report are very worrying \u2026 but we\u2019re already starting to see some real improvements.\u201d<\/p>\n The allegations in relation to the City\u2019s organisational culture, seemed to come as a surprise to councillors and sparked debate about public perceptions.<\/p>\n A majority expressed worry that their current positions would be tarnished by the findings of this report, even though they operate externally to the council officers.<\/p>\n \u201cTo have a group of people who are now held accountable \u2026 by the owners of the city, the people, for misdemeanours that we could\u2019ve done nothing about to me is very wrong,\u201d Cr Tillet said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are being blamed now and we will be blamed from tomorrow on for the misdemeanours that have been uncovered by Ms Halliday \u2026 without knowing the details.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SPENDING on projects and organisational culture at the City of Ballarat came to the fore last council meeting as the event got bogged down in the early results of two different reviews. As revealed during Interim CEO Janet Dore\u2019s regular reporting, the first document looked at issues around the Gate Keeper\u2019s Cottage, the Botanical Gardens […]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/09\/20200917_153937-300x225.jpg\")
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