!!!!! TheCouncil !!!!!

You might wonder why it is important to define TheCouncil and the reason is that we must understand who is responsible within TheShire and for what.

The bottom line is that TheCouncil consists of the 11 people we elect. It does not include TheOfficers or TheCEO.

It took me many weeks of questions during public question time to get to box “them” in and get this term defined in accordance with the Local Government Act 1989. I have now received confirmation from The Honourable Richard William; Minister for Local Government.

TheCEO and TheOfficers would like us to believe that they are part of TheCouncil but they are not. They are merely instruments to carry out TheCouncil’s’ will.

Their decisions are only binding and are referred to as the decisions of TheCouncil (the Council has decided) only so far as TheCouncil or other laws have delegated them the power to act in the name of TheCouncil. But they are not part of the decision making body of TheCouncil.

What this means is that everything that happens in TheShire is on the head of TheCouncil except where other legislation might supersede their authority (planning legislation for example) and there is therefore no one to blame for the culture of TheShire but your elected representative who is one of 11 who make up TheCouncil.

TheCouncil is responsible for the answers you get (or don’t get) to questions you ask. They are responsible for the rate increases we get each year without any significant inputs from us. They are responsible for the culture within which TheOfficers and TheStaff operate. They are responsible for the secrecy that perpetuates itself in the name of Transparency (completely open and frank) that is touted throughout TheShire. They are responsible for the answers of confidentiality and using this and the FOI process to deny us access to information. They are responsible entirely for allowing the culture to exist that caused the latest investigation and subsequent report by the Ombudsman. They are responsible for correcting systemic deficiencies.

The buck stops with TheCouncil (your elected 11)!!!!

?????.. Ombudsmans’ Report….?????

I have tried to get several Councillors to make a motion at a Council meeting to send a letter to the ombudsman recommending that his recent report be released.

Unfortunately, the Transparency (completely open and frank) Veil has been lowered again and even though TheCouncil profess that this report is not damming will not request its release. I think the opposite … that it is quite damming.

So what can you do? Contact Your Councillor and ask this specific question:

Will you put a motion to the floor at the next Council meeting to write a letter to the ombudsman asking that the report be made public??

When you get a negative response ask and demand an answer to the question WHY NOT???

It is also very important to Contact David Gibb with the same questions as he has publicly stated that he has had no ratepayer input on this issue.

Please email me and let me know who you contacted and their response.

$$$$$ 2010-2011 Budget $$$$$

The initiative has been lost to get any meaningful inputs into the 2010-2011 budgeting process. By the time TheShire asks for any inputs, it is too late and most items have been cast in concrete.

So…. to have any chance of and change for the 2011-2012 budgeting process it is important that we start the process today!

To this end I am looking for 7 good people to form a budget input task force to inspire significant changes in the next process. This group would be looking at the process, at the information made available, reporting, and anything else pertaining to the budgeting and financial reporting process.

Terms of reference will be determined by the FinancialActionGroup once formed.

If you are interested in serving on the FinancialActionGroup please email me and provide a little background on yourself. I will convene the first session soon.

Letters, Letters, and more Letters

The correspondence TheShire receives is overwhelming but I did not comprehend to what extent until I asked Kevin Clarke: Director Sustainable Organization to provide me with some statistics.

Although this does not negate the need of TheShire to respond to our correspondence it does indicate the magnitude of the problem and, yes, some things might slip through the cracks. It also points out the need for us to take some responsibility and to be diligent in following up on any correspondence that is not answered in the time line specificed by TheShire: twelve working days from receipt.

Let me give you some interesting stats for the month just past Month (October 2009):

• Received 13,049 items of hard copy mail (11,430 via Australia Post, 1,320 via DX and 299 faxes).
• All of these are processed via our AusInfo system and it is those that we are best able to monitor and track for responsiveness.
• We received 86,765 emails into the organisation.
• The vast majority of these are sent direct to an email address (a person) in the Shire, not to the custserv@mornpen.vic .gov.au (which are in turn treated as hard copy and forwarded to AusInfo).
• Obviously not all of these emails need a response but I acknowledge that it is these emails that we need to rely on the 'responsiveness' of staff because we cannot (at this stage) track every one for the 12 day response.
• And obviously some of these are SPAM or similar (actually 1 in 7 is assessed as junk email/ unsolicited etc etc).
• Interestingly, of the 86,765 emails received , 1 in 230 was affected by a virus, all of which were trapped and successfully quarantined by our virus protection software.

Local Governance Act 1989 (LGA1989)

This is a document that anyone who is seriously interested in making change in the local government must have at their disposal. It is the bible of local government.

This document outlines the legal do’s and do not’s of local government and is an important tool. It certainly helps any cause if you can point to a section of LGA1989, especially if you are going to take a matter to the Ombudsman.

The cost is relatively nominal (around $35) and, amazingly, it is an easy read and easy to understand. To obtain a copy you can go to the website www.ocpc.vic.gov.au or call 03.9278.1144 or 1300.366.356

If you need clarification of an issue in LGA1989 you can call the information line at 03.9651.7026. You will reach a triage gatekeeper who will then have an appropriate officer return your call. My call on a recent matter was returned within two hours although I can’t promise this in all cases.

12 Days and Counting

The Shire has a policy that Shire Officers (unfortunately does not include Councillors) respond to questions within 12 working days of receipt at the Shire Offices. This response can be an answer to your question or letting you know that the answer will take some research and will be forthcoming (hopefully, they will tell you when you can expect an answer). The shire also touts a 99%+ performance rating to this standard.

It is best to put these questions in writing to the Shire at:

RE: (put subject indicator here)
Mornington Peninsula Shire
Private Bag 1000
Rosebud Vic 3939

Unfortunately, emails have a tendency to “get lost” in the system’s black hole. The Shire is currently installing a new communications system that will be able to track emails but for now the written word is best. I’ll let you know when this new system is up and running.

All Shire correspondence has a reference number (a great big long one) and you should use this reference in any dealings with the matter. And, as always, a time line of documentation is important: who did you talk to, when, what was discussed, etc... In the end the responsibility to get an answer rests with you. If you do not follow up then it is unreasonable to complain. No system is perfect.

It is always a good idea to copy your Councillor on all correspondence so he/she knows what is going on and, of course, they are the last resort to get results or to resolve issues to your satisfaction. Sometimes you have to accept the word “NO” (one word I have a great deal of trouble with).

If your Councillor is lax and does not help you resolve your problem then it is in your best interest to do everything in your power to make sure this person is not elected in the next election. It is the ultimate weapon you have.

Questions put to your Councillor

It is unreasonable to expect your Councillor to be able to personally answer all questions asked of him/her as many of them require professional inputs of a technical nature.

So it is quite appropriate for your Councillor to refer many questions to the Officer who is responsible for that particular subject.

You should expect that your councillor will communicate with you and tell your question has been forwarded and who it has been forwarded to. It is also reasonable to ask your Councillor (being as the question was posed to her/him) to follow up if you do not receive an answer within 12 working days from when it was forwarded (this is a shire policy for Shire Officers responses but, unfortunately, not for responses from out elected officials).

If you are not happy with the response from the Officer then you need to solicit the support of your Councillor to get it “fixed”. This may come in many types of remedy including a face-to-face meeting with the Officer and your Councillor to work it out.

If you do not get the support you feel you should get you can contact the Mayor and, as always in the last resort, if you are not happy with the response you get from your elected official do everything in your power to make sure the current Councillor is not re-elected.

As always make sure you have a documented time line of what happened and when and any document references. In dealing with large bureaucratic organizations (be it Government or not) documented time lines of what happened and when is essential.