Councillor spending stays secret DETAILS of each councillor’s spending on allowances will not be released until Mornington Peninsula Shire’s annual report, possibly as late as October. Elections to determine who will fill the 11 places on the shire’s council will be held Saturday 22 October. Attempts to verify the delay in obtaining details about councillor spending with the shire’s communications manager, Mark Kestigian, were unsuccessful late on Friday. A message left on voicemail drew no response by deadline. No statement appeared on the shire website. But, if usual annual report practice is followed, the figures to be released will not be more than a prĂŠcis of spending by councillors in the 2015-16 financial year – not the previous three years’ figures, which last month showed some councillors had spent more than their allowances (“Adding up councillor costsâ€?, The News 1/3/16). The figures will not detail each councillor’s spending as sought at the 22 February council meeting. The revised details were given to councillors by 10 March but have remained secret. The figures were expected to be made public a fortnight later, before Easter. But, three weeks on, they remain confidential. It is believed the shire has sought legal opinion on whether councillors must repay amounts claimed above their allowance limit. One councillor is believed to have overspent in one area by well over $10,000. The seeking of legal advice appears at odds with the council decision of 22 February that any councillor found to have overspent their allowances must repay the excess. The original shire figures revealed spending in only one allowance area – seminars and conferences. They showed that two councillors, Antonella Celi and David Gibb, had overspent. Many allowance areas appear not to be capped. The figures did not include a trip to Paris for
Councillor allowances 2014-15 Cr Antonella Celi Cr Hugh Fraser Cr David Garnock Cr Tim Rodgers Cr David Gibb Cr Bev Colomb Cr Tim Wood Cr Lynn Bowden Cr Andrew Dixon Cr Graham Pittock Cr Anne Shaw
Annual Weekly average $39,962 $768 $27,235 $524 $25,661 $493 $24,645 $474 $23,937 $460 $23,095 $444 $15,108 $290 $11,956 $230 $10,742 $207 $10,006 $192 $9319 $179
climate change talks by the mayor Cr Pittock and C r Hugh Fraser. Councillors get allowances for: ď Ž Travel. ď Ž Vehicle mileage. ď Ž Child care. ď Ž Information, communication. ď Ž Conferences and training. ď Ž Other costs, including superannuation, memberships, meals, uniforms and stationery. The allowance for “conferences and trainingâ€?, also referred to as “seminars and conferencesâ€?, is limited to $4000 annually, or $16,000 a councillor over each four-year council term. Council officers provided full details of all this spending but some figures were further disputed and, it is believed, some adjustments were made. The figures detailed the sum involved in each item of spending; to whom the money was pai; the goods or services obtained; and the date of each payment. The shire’s 12-page policy document on allowances is extremely detailed. For example, Travel Expenses are constrained to trips “undertaken by
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the most practicable route possible taking into account factors such as duration and cost of travel and where travel is by flight, the standard form of travel will be economy class�. Child care expenses are similarly constrained by way of limits on hourly rates for weekday, weekend and public holiday periods, with payments barred to “immediate family�. A carers allowance is payable for dependants aged over 17, the cut-off age for child care. Cr Celi was mayor from 1 July 2014 to 9 November 2014. Cr Colomb was mayor 10 November 2014 to 30 June 2015. Each received the higher mayoral salary for their mayoral period. Cr Colomb received $67,287 and Cr Celi’s shire income was $49,661 over the year. Other councillors were each paid $27,916 for the year, according to the annual report. Cr Celi was the only councillor to receive a child care allowance, which totalled $6982 over the financial year, or $134.27 a week.
Brewery helped RED Hill Brewery benefits has trained staff and bought new software with a $9000 grant from the federal government’s industry skills fund. "This means the whole business now has access to real time stock, sales and financial information, which was previously only available in our business via one terminal and required a lot of data input. Now it's all live and everyone contributes to keeping it up-to-date, making it much more useful,� Karen Golding, who runs the brewery with her husband David, said. "We have also enrolled our brewer in a nationally accredited brewing science certificate to further his knowledge of brewing, which will ultimately improve our own systems and product quality."
Plants and animals FRENCH Island based ecologist Chris Chandler will speak about “French Island - orchids and wildlife� at the next meeting of Peninsula Field Naturalists Club, 8pm 13 April at 16 High St, Frankston. Details: 97754231.
Quarry trucks start to roll BAYPORT Industries has written to residents in Pottery Rd and Jones Rd, Somerville, saying they will “commence carting out clay material from our quarry operation� in Pottery Rd – from yesterday (Monday 4 April) until 31 July. Tyabb & District Ratepayers Group Secretary Katrina Chalke said: “School starts back on 11 April – just wait for the traffic mayhem.� Bayport Industries has permits to continue using the 24 hectare Peninsula Pottery site as an open cut clay mine. The permitted hours of operation are 7am-6pm Monday to Friday and 8am1pm Saturday. It is estimated that up to 280 truck movements will occur each day. The association is ramping up its opposition to
the “open cut mine� at Somerville which it says will generate profits for the quarry owners “but losses to residents of Somerville and Tyabb�. All vegetation on the site has been removed. Although it is acknowledged that the quarry owners have long-standing permits, as well as existing-use rights, for clay extraction, the association fears the latest plans so far exceed what has been permitted in the past that new permits should be required. It says the increased activity will generate “intolerable dust and noise and disturb wildlife, impact on children travelling to school, and reduce nearby property values�. They fear the quarry may eventually be filled with hard waste.
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Shop 42/44 High Street, Hastings Western Port News 5 April 2016
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