Frankston
Frank ston
2 May 2016
Heart to heart > Page 3
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Darkest hours CROWDS gathered at the new Frankston war memorial in Beauty Park for a dawn service on Anzac Day (Monday 25 April) to honour those who served the country in wartime. More Anzac Day photos Page 14. Picture: Gary Sissons
Consultants ‘under control’ Neil Walker neil@baysidenews.com.au CLAIMS that council payments to external consultants are on the rise made Frankston Council CEO Dennis Hovenden see red at last week’s public council meeting as it emerged a committee of councillors to monitor external consultancy fees paid out by council was never established despite being mandated by councillors four years ago. A visibly angry Mr Hovenden said
payments to consultants have fallen during his tenure as CEO as councillors asked him to put a figure on how much consultancy fees have declined at council’s latest public meeting. “It is a fact that the executive management team are all across things that are happening in this organisation around consultants,” Mr Hovenden said. “I meet with the procurement department on a weekly basis. Something came across my desk the other day – we were going to appoint a consultant for three years and spend
$100,000. I put a stop to it.” Former mayor and councillor Kris Bolam has questioned “wasteful spending” on external consultants after payments to outside consultants jumped from $1.2 million in 2009 to $1.7 million in 2013, the latest breakdown of such payments provided by council under freedom of information laws (‘Cash out as consultants cash in’, The Times 26/4/16). Mr Hovenden was hired by Frankston Council as CEO in September 2012. At last Tuesday evening’s public
ods of actually apportioning consultancy fees and means of reporting back to council and this meeting be convened within the next four weeks” was passed by councillors but never actioned. Cr Hampton’s motion rescinded an approved notice of motion by then Cr Kris Bolam at the previous meeting on 6 February 2016 requiring each council department to report to councillors the number of consultants, services provided and the anticipated cost of consultants on a quarterly basis. Continued Page 10
meeting Frankston mayor Cr James Dooley said overall consultancy fees since 2013 have fallen. “Some have gone down, some have gone up,” Cr Dooley said. “The claim that consultancies have gone up overall under this council is wrong. It’s just wrong.” Councillors tried to take a greater interest in payments to consultants four years ago without success. A notice of motion by Cr Colin Hampton in February 2012 “that a committee of interested councillors meet with the CEO to discuss meth-
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