LOCAL Government Victoria\u2019s recently released Know Your Council data has reported an improvement in City of Ballarat\u2019s transparency.<\/p>\n
In the 2020-2021 financial year, the council undertook 3.28 per cent of its decision making behind closed doors, whereas comparable local government areas made 9.05 per cent of their decisions in camera.<\/p>\n
The City\u2019s community satisfaction data reported 58 per cent of people were happy with decisions made, whereas comparable local government areas\u2019 public satisfaction was at 53 per cent.<\/p>\n
City of Ballarat mayor Cr Daniel Moloney said town hall is seeing a new era of transparency and accountability.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs councillors, with the support of CEO Evan King, we want to be more accountable to our ratepayers for our decision making,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is why we have brought tenders into the public realm, so it is obvious how we make our decisions around large contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said public satisfaction surrounding sealed road quality can improve.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoads are part of council\u2019s core business, and there\u2019s been a strong commitment to roads funding in our current 2020\/21 council budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to strive for improvement in this area. However, overall these indicators show the City of Ballarat is heading in the right direction to improve its service delivery, its governance and its transparency for its ratepayers,\u201d Cr Moloney said.<\/p>\n
With a Community Engagement Policy, Procurement Policy, new 10-year Financial Plan, Revenue and Rating Plan, Risk Management Framework, and performance reporting, the municipality addressed 23 items on the governance and management checklist. An Asset Plan will be developed in 2022.<\/p>\n
In comparison to other similar local government areas charging an average of $1901.71, the City\u2019s median rate per property assessment is also less with a charge of $1869.82.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LOCAL Government Victoria\u2019s recently released Know Your Council data has reported an improvement in City of Ballarat\u2019s transparency. In the 2020-2021 financial year, the council undertook 3.28 per cent of its decision making behind closed doors, whereas comparable local government areas made 9.05 per cent of their decisions in camera. The City\u2019s community satisfaction data […]<\/p>\n