PPS: We have perused what other councils are doing in terms of increased funds to the CEOs under delegation. Surprise, surprise, there is not one single council that comes close to what Glen Eira is proposing! The following quotes all come from the March minutes of these councils:

HOBSONS BAY – awarding a contract or the expenditure of council funds exceeding the value of $3,500,000(inclusive of GST), with the exception of insurance premiums, Workcover premiums andemployee superannuation payments;

DAREBIN: Temporarily increase the financial delegation of the Chief Executive Officer from $500,000 to $1M including awarding a contract for the purchase of goods and services or for the carrying out of works not exceeding the value of $1M (including GST) to be used only in the event that Council is unable to meet because of circumstances related to the COVID19 pandemic subject to;

  • The expenditure being included in budget.
  • Compliance with the provisions of the Local Government Act and Council procurement policy and practices.
  • Receive a report at the next available Council meeting on the use of the temporary delegations.

FRANKSTON: It is proposed that during a state or national emergency, the expenditure limit for the Chief Executive Officer will increase from $500K to $2M, exclusive of GST. This will enable the Chief Executive (CEO) to enter into contracts during these periods. The expenditure limits for the Directors, Managers, Coordinators, Team Leaders and staff will remain unchanged

MORNINGTON: $1 M

The agenda for next Tuesday night’s council meeting contains several items that make us wonder whether the proposed initiatives are nothing more than bureaucratic opportunism which would result in the increased power of unelected officers and the further sidelining of residents and councillors.

We acknowledge fully the ongoing COVID crisis and the impact it is having on all sectors of the community  – including councils themselves. What is proposed in several items is the following:

  • Changes to CEO delegation empowering her to grant contracts/tenders of up to $20 million
  • The abolition of Delegated Planning Committee hearings and Planning Consultation Meetings for all planning applications
  • If no quorum at council meetings then CEO and/or delegated officers have power to grant, refuse, amend permits.
  • The cessation of public participation at council meetings. All public questions will be recorded in the minutes.

We will deal with these sequentially.

  1. Delegations

We are informed that according to the legislation, councillors have to be present in order to cast their votes. Hence, if some councillors may have to self isolate, there is the possibility that no quorum will be available and hence, no council decisions can be made. The argument is that in order for council to continue functioning, that more power be delegated to officers and the CEO since there is no legal avenue for online communication and participation when it comes to formal council meetings. The agenda cites the ‘advice’ provided by Local Government Victoria:

“Present” means being physically present at the meeting. This requirement mirrors Parliamentary practice in which a Member must be present at a Division to vote. While there can be advantages for remotely located councillors to be able to participate in meetings without being physically present, this must be balanced against other considerations including the public transparency requirements on decision making by a publicly elected body.

What is not revealed in the agenda is that this ‘advice’ is dated the 18th March 2020. Since then there have been several more restrictions placed on meetings due to COVID. Furthermore, the Municipal Association of Victoria, plus plenty of other councils, have come out urging the Premier/Ministers to ‘fast track’ changes so that councillors can complete council business via electronic means. Currently, both NSW and South Australia permit council meetings without having councillors physically present in the chamber. See the following especially the quote from a government official that makes specific mention of meetings :

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-01/councils-worry-local-democracy-being-compromised-by-coronavirus/12111270?pfm=sm

“We’re working with councils to consider the implications of coronavirus on their operations, including the welfare of staff, compliance with the Act, elections and their meetings.“

MAV MEDIA RELEASE:

“With streaming and virtual meetings now widely available, we call on the Minister for Local Government Adem Somyurek and the State Government to make this common sense decision and enable one of these options to be implemented as as alternative to meeting face to face.”

Lord Mayor Sally Capp is also calling on the State to fast-track changes.

“The community relies on councils to make decisions that impact their daily lives, but in the current climate we are handcuffed by the restrictions in the Local Government Act.

“We need to prioritise the health and safety of our communities while also continuing to deliver results,” she said.

South Australian Decision (https://www.lga.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?c=87606)

The Electronic Participation in Council Meetings Notice (No 1) 2020 (Notice 1) was made by the Minister on 31 March 2020 and provides variations to the Local Government Act 1999 (LG Act) and the Local Government (Procedures at Meetings) Regulations 2013 (Regulations) to enable some or all council members to participate in a council meeting by electronic means. Further information, including a link to the Notice and an explanatory paper prepared by the LGA, is available in Circular 14.1.

It is our view that allowing an unelected individual to have control over $20m is not in the best interest of this community – regardless of the current situation. It also begs the question of why Moreland City Council can decide to grant its CEO only $2 million in the exact same circumstances. Here is what Moreland decided on the 25th March 2020

Notes the delegation temporarily increases the financial limit of the Chief Executive Officer from $700,000(excludingGST)to $2million (excludingGST),including awarding a contract for the purchase of goods and services or for the carrying out of works, with the increased delegation to be used only in the event that Council is unable to meet because of circumstances related to the COVID19pandemic and subject to:

i.The expenditure being included in budget; and

ii.Compliance with the provisions of the Local Government Act in force at the time and Council’s Procurement Policy.

The only ‘safeguard’ in terms of transparency and accountability that is provided to Glen Eira residents comes with the following:

  • Council will make available (where practicable) on its website, a list of decisionsthat would have been dealt with by Council, but were made under delegation dueto Council being unable to form a quorum due to illness of Councillors or the needto self-isolate by Councillors;
  • the CEO will (where practicable) consider and take into account the views ofCouncillors in making the decisions that would have been dealt with by Council atan ordinary council meeting or special council meeting, but for the coming intooperation of Schedule B of the Instrument of Delegation; and
  • the Instrument of Delegation, when in force, will be reviewed at least once everythree months and that Council at an ordinary council meeting or special councilmeeting will resolve whether to vary, revoke it or leave it in place.

Why do we have such phrases as ‘where practicable’ included? Who decides what is ‘practicable’? What does the term mean anyway given that publishing up to date items on council’s website should be simple given the millions that this council has spent on its IT and website upgrades!!!

QUESTIONS

  • Why is there no mention of this pressure for change in the officer report?
  • How was the figure of $20m derived and why?
  • Why does one council consider that $2m is sufficient for the continued smooth operation of a council and Glen Eira feels that ten times this amount is necessary?
  • Why the rush to push this through when change is undoubtedly imminent given the outcry and the existence of this in at least 2 other states?

 

2.Abolition of DCP & Community Planning Consultations

Ceasing the operation of the above does ostensibly make sense given the requirement for social distancing, etc. at this time. What does not make sense is council’s failure to even consider the possibility that these important avenues for community involvement could be done via the multitude of different phone and online conferencing tools.

Instead, the only time that this possibility is even mentioned in the officer’s report, and then totally ignored comes with this paragraph:

Council is presently working towards instituting online platforms which will allow a Delegated Planning Forum and a Planning Conference to be conducted without having to physically meet. Given the nature of these meetings and the diversity of stakeholders in the planning process, it is important to ensure that any on-line platform is stable, reliable and facilitates accessibility, inclusiveness and transparency in the planning process.

What on earth does ‘presently working towards’ really mean? What is the proposed time line?

Surely there would be no cost or very little cost in implementing such tools immediately. Here’s what Corangamite was able to do in the space of less than a week for its first live streamed council meeting:

The Shire’s first live stream, hastily put together in response to the coronavirus pandemic social distancing requirements, used existing equipment and the free Facebook platform, incurring no cost to ratepayers. (https://www.corangamite.vic.gov.au/Council/News-and-Media/Latest-News/Online-Council-meeting-call)

 

CONCLUSIONS

We can find no sound reasoning that would condone:

  • Granting one individual the power to spend $20m
  • The continued sidelining of residents and councillors when technology can be used to continue meetings
  • The real potential for the further erosion of accountability and transparency

 

PS: By way of contrast to how other councils have handled the current situation and CEO delegations, we’ve taken 2 screen shots of the recent March minutes from Monash and Port Phillip. Please note the requirement for complete and open transparency. The question then becomes: why isn’t this part of the Glen Eira Council approach? What’s to be gained (or hidden?) in the way Glen Eira has determined things will run?