PS: The World According To Ho – https://www.crikey.com.au/2016/06/24/councillor-in-same-sex-marriage-controversy/
We are not accountants, but we do regard ourselves as reasonably intelligent people who should be able to make sense of most things in a budget. Not in Glen Eira it would seem! Readers will remember that the restructuring of the GESAC loan (and the payment of a $4.9 million penalty) has forced Council back to the drawing board and the requirement to publish a new Strategic Resource Statement and Budget. It is this latest version of the accounts that raises a multitude of questions. Are we in fact dealing with ‘creative accounting’? If not, then every single item should be beyond doubt and self-evident. They are not! There simply is no correlation between the figures presented on May 3rd and the figures that now appear in the new budget. Why not? Have any councillors bothered to ask any decent questions? And why aren’t the changes highlighted and fully explained to residents?
Here are some of our concerns:
COMMENT
Thus in May, just 6 or 7 weeks ago, residents were lead to believe that all that was necessary for the completion of the Booran Road Reservoir was the expenditure of another $903K – as further evidenced by the screen dump below, where no further expenditure is forecast.. So now we suddenly learn that another $3 million plus is to go into this project? Why? Where’s the money coming from? And what is the total cost of this originally mooted $5m redevelopment?
GESAC
BUDGET ESTIMATES
One of the most bewildering announcements from the two budgets are the figures for the income derived from ‘general rates’. Both budgets claim that the numbers were compiled from the ‘financial statements as at the end of January 2016’. Thus they should be identical – especially since they are ‘forecasts for 2015/16’ and not for 2016/17. Yet the discrepancy is staggering – a $5 million difference for figures that are supposedly based on the identical financial statements. In short, ‘forecasts’ for the past year should not change – but in Glen Eira they do!
Finally, here are some other comparisons from the May and the June documents. The onus is firmly on this council to explain these ‘discrepancies’ in plain English and to account for every single dollar that is to be spent. We also remind readers that the new ‘negotiated’ interest rate for GESAC has not been revealed when the previous interest rate was NOT deemed top secret! Why the difference? And why aren’t residents privy to what is happening to their hard earned cash? We also note that the claim that GESAC is paying for itself is no longer included!
May 3rd – The expected operating result for the 2016-2017 year is a surplus of $16.61m which is a $124k increase from the 2015-2016 annual forecast. (The forecast operating result for the 2015-2016 year is a surplus of $16.48m).”
June 28th – The expected operating result for the 2016-2017 year is a surplus of $17.22m which is an increase of $5.74m from the 2015-2016 annual forecast. The forecast operating result for the 2015-2016 year is a surplus of $11.47m. Included in the 2015-2016 forecast is the economic cost of $4.93m associated with Council restructuring its loan facility.
May 3rd – Total cash and investments are expected to increase by $6.23m during the year to $45.24m as at 30 June 2017. This is due to a higher than anticipated closing cash balance as at 30 June 2016. (Cash and investments are forecast to be $39.02m as at 30 June 2016).
June 28th – Total cash and investments are expected to increase by $1.72m during the year to $45.58m as at 30 June 2017. This is due to a higher than anticipated closing cash balance as at 30 June 2016. (Cash and investments are forecast to be $43.86m as at 30 June 2016).
3rd May – Borrowing repayments of principal and interest costs of $2.88m will be made during the 2016-2017 financial year. Borrowings outstanding as at 30 June 2017 are projected to be $18.71m. The repayment of all borrowings is fully funded by GESAC.
28th June – On 17 May 2016, Council approved to restructure the existing loan facilities with a revised term of 7 years and a fixed interest rate. Loan repayments of approximately $4m per annum have been included in the SRP. Borrowings outstanding as at 30 June 2017 are projected to be $21.46m.
May 3rd – Interest-bearing loans and borrowings are borrowings of Council. Council is budgeting to repay loan principal payments of $1.31m over the year.
June 28th – Interest-bearing loans and borrowings are borrowings of Council. Council is budgeting to repay loan principal payments of $3.24m over the 2016-2017 year.
If any readers can shed light on the above comparisons, we welcome their thoughts!
Glen Eira Debates 
June 25, 2016 at 9:22 AM
In less than 3 months as Glen Eira Councillor Kelvin has made the social media headlines. Shame, shame, shame Kelvin for promoting the view that same sex marriage is the forerunner of bestiality.
Obviously he is an effing idiot who needs to be shown the door lickety split.
June 25, 2016 at 10:00 AM
Cr. Ho turns out to be a a small minded right wing bigot in the Cori Barnardi style. Unfit to hold office representing Rosstown residents. (MODERATORS: sentence deleted)
I bet Lipshutz and Hyam will not say a word. If this had been Lobo they would have toppled a tonne of brick-batts on him.
It amazing how selective these Liberal Party human right defenders can be.
June 25, 2016 at 10:52 AM
I will give them the benefit of the doubt as say that everything tallies. That doesn’t go far enough in my books. You don’t suddenly whack on several million to finish off something that was claimed to cost only another $930,000. I doubt that the money is even going to be used for Booran. It is easy to put a figure in a column or an account and then no-one knows where it goes but the books balance in the end.
June 25, 2016 at 2:43 PM
Council are magicians. They deal in smoke and mirrors whenever it comes to money and accountability.
June 26, 2016 at 9:32 AM
Ho Ho Ho Christmas pop – you have shown that you are a liberal party member. Who has indoctrinated you? Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas.
June 26, 2016 at 10:06 AM
My understanding of what is happening is that council is back up to having a massive loan to repay plus lots of other expenses like nearly two million for back charges on the landfill.The financial report is an eye opener too. Another million to pay for fixing up Duncan Mackinnon. I dont know how every major project can be so stuffed up and none of this takes into account how much they had to spend on lawyers.
June 26, 2016 at 2:44 PM
ALL THIS MAY GO SOMEWAY TO EXPLAIN NEWTON’S QUICK EXIT AS THE ALMIGHTY GREAT CEO.
ADD THIS, TO PB BEING STRIPPED OF HIS REWRITER POSITION ALONG WITH HIS STATUS BEING LOWERED TO THAT OF THE BACKROOM COPYBOY.
SOME TRUTH IS BEGINNING TO SQUEAKING OUT BETWEEN THE CRACKS.
June 26, 2016 at 4:23 PM
I always believed that no Councillor who has served more than one term (ie. Lipshutz, Hyams, Esakoff, Pilling, Magee and Lobo) deserved to be re-elected in the upcoming elections.
If the above is correct, then you can add to the list those Councillors who are in their first term (i.e. Souness and Delahunty) because if they didn’t know what was going then they have failed fulfill their legal responsibility to provide oversight.
Same applies to Okotel who resigned 3 years into her term so she could stand in for the Senate in the Federal Elections. Again, if the above is true then her failure as a Councillor shows she is unfit for election to the Senate.
And as for Kelvin, who replaced Okotel less than 3 months ago, his homophobic and extremist views make him unfit for the role of Councillor.
June 26, 2016 at 6:24 PM
I suspect the “PB” reference is none other than Glen Eira’s Basil Fawlty of Community Relations. Good news indeed!!!
June 26, 2016 at 7:08 PM
Does seem poor practice for GECC to publish the revised budget without revision bars, and to fail to supply a rationale for each change. Also odd that rates and charges income doesn’t change between May and June versions yet Huntly Reservoir spending goes from $930K to $4.06M. The $3M+ additional money has to have been ripped out of something else.
June 26, 2016 at 8:32 PM
Kevin Ho has been briefed by Okotell to vote with liberal Councillrs as she has faithfull done for three years. Let Santa Clauuse is told to look at the black sheep of the Council and then vote with them. Heard that he is a project Manager for owner occupied builders….. Hum. He is denying having made derogatory statement about gay community huh!??? Is the Victotian Liberal party going to do something about Hyna, Lip shut and Santa clause Ho???
June 27, 2016 at 7:46 AM
Pretty hard for Ho to deny it when he is noted for his extremist views, which have been well documented on social media. Translation verified by no less that 3 independent interpreters.
But then again both Council and Libs appear to have let Hyams off the hook for shouting “f*ckwit” at the citizenship ceremony. Think about the significance of the event to those who gained citizenship, think about the number of people attending and those who heard it, Hyams admits he did it.
There is absolutely no excuse for such deplorable conduct anywhere, anytime by anyone. Let alone a Councillor acting in an official capacity at a formal joint Council and Australian Government sponsored ceremony. Why Hyams hasn’t been hauled before a Councillor Code of Conduct Panel or ordered to attend Anger Management sessions is beyond me. It speaks volumes about the integrity of the other 8 Councillors. At least the Libs have refused to back Hyams’s re-election campaign (too much of a liability), which is a step in the right direction.
The man is a duplicitous, pip squeak with an ego unmatched by his achievements and a loose cannon that delights in insulting residents.
June 27, 2016 at 10:55 AM
The Councillors who have deliberately
joined/assisted the gang for favours in return should pay for what they have done. Why did the Councillors Hyams for public abuse such as FWIT BITCH and who knows what else.
Do Councillors have blood on their hand? If residential zones have s?
stand. Gang gagging, closed door decisions, going from back doors, rubbing shoulders with people with authority and damaging the interest of people. The Council needs to be investigated for so many things and much much more.
June 27, 2016 at 12:30 PM
Councillor Ho it would seem appropriate in light of your alleged homophobic remarks, to draw your attention to the following taken from the GE Councillor Code of Conduct 2016:
5.2 HARASSMENT AND DISCRIMINATION
Councillors must not harass, bully, vilify, or discriminate against colleagues,
staff members or members of the public. They must discourage others if they
do so. This includes harassment and discrimination on the grounds of sex,
pregnancy, age, race (including their colour, nationality, descent, ethnic or
religious background), political affiliation, marital status, impairment, sexual
orientation, gender identity, parental status or status as a carer, breast
feeding, physical features, industrial activity or personal association.
June 27, 2016 at 12:44 PM
If the alleged remarks for Cr Ho are true that should be grounds for instant dismissal. I am appalled and disgusted from these comments. If this was in any other work place, they would have their marching orders straight away.
June 27, 2016 at 6:08 PM
So how come Council spends at least $30,000 on investigating allegations of Lobo being a bully (now there a crap claim if ever I’ve heard one, yet Hyams is allowed to disgrace himself and Council at the Citizenship ceremony by shouting “f*ckwit” at Lobo and Ho is able to express bigotry?
July 25, 2016 at 5:17 PM
Trouble in paradise, tenants of courts Oakleigh Warriors have drawn lawyers at ten paces.Bitter in-fighting , sacking of GM ,( second time ). allegations of illegal committee/board set ups, Name calling, Inference of cowardice president. Fair work threats, this train wreck has it all. I hope there’s enough in the coffers to pay their rent. Oh sorry I forgot , that’s a sweetheart/ ego driven deal . I hope the rate payers don’t mind stumping them up again.
July 25, 2016 at 5:28 PM
Dear Anonymous,
if you have any documentation or other evidence to substantiate these claims we would welcome you forwarding them to us.