Southern Peninsula
South ern Penin
sula
18 October
2016
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Flesh-eating bacteria on the rise FRANKSTON and the Mornington Peninsula have emerged as “hot spots” for a flesh-eating bacteria that leaves sufferers disfigured and has doctors baffled. Rye resident Vincent Misitano believes he may have been bitten by an infected mosquito in May last year, but it wasn’t until he returned from an overseas trip that he sought treatment for a sore that wouldn’t go away. Read more Page 7 Picture: Yanni
Councillor expenses unknown Neil Walker neil@mpnews.com.au VOTERS will not know how much Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors spent on expenses during the full current four-year council term before this weekend’s council elections. The shire’s 11 councillors collectively spent $135,357 — about $100,000 more of ratepayers’ money on expenses compared to neighbouring Frankston and
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Kingston councils — over a 12-month period in the 2015-16 financial year. The 11 shire councillors also spent about $150,000 more than 18 Frankston and Kingston councillors combined in 2014-15. The shire previously pledged to publicly release all councillors’ expenses for the first two financial years of this four-year council term but has subsequently reneged on the promise to be transparent about expenses, supposedly budgeted at $16,000 per four-year term
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for each councillor. In July and August, the shire said all councillor expenses would be included in the latest council annual report released last week. The expenses for 2012-13 and 2013-14, never previously released, were not included in the report. “Council will release figures relating to council expenditure on training and conferences over the current term later this month,” shire chief financial officer Matt Green said in August.
When asked last week for councillor expenses figures, shire media communications manager Mark Kestigian said council governance manager Joe Spiteri decided the expenses figures could not be provided since caretaker provisions are in place before council elections. Caretaker provisions – in force from 20 September until 22 October – mean councils must not make major policy decisions just before elections or produce material that could influence election outcomes.
The state government advised The News that providing councillor expenses information does not breach the Local Government Act but individual councils can decide how to deal with caretaker provisions. Neighbouring Frankston Council and Kingston councils have published details of all councillor expenses for each year of this four-year council term in their annual reports. Continued Page 13
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