NEWS DESK
CEO casts doubt on council cost comparisons Neil Walker neil@mpnews.com.au MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire CEO Carl Cowie is questioning the veracity of figures which show shire councillor expenses far exceed those at neighbouring councils. A ratepayer at last Monday evening’s public council meeting asked Mr Cowie to explain why shire councillors’ expenses in the previous 2012-16 council term “are so high in comparison” to Kingston and Frankston (“Shire’s councillors are costly”, The News 14/11/16). Eleven shire councillors claimed $616,712 in ratepayer-funded expenses over four years compared to $205,329 for Frankston’s nine councillors and $101,807 for Kingston’s nine councillors over the same period. Mr Cowie said he doubted the expenses were a “like with like” comparison and “after a discussion with Matt Green, chief financial officer, it seems that these numbers do not have the same things included for comparison”. “We will find out more information about what is included in the Frankston and Kingston numbers, but our councillor expenses are well explained in each annual report,” Mr Cowie said. “So, unfortunately, this is probably not reported accurately in the media but we will get you a correct answer to this.” Shire councillor spending on training, conferences and seminars far outstripped Frankston and Kingston
councillor expenses over four years, according to figures officially released by all three councils. Shire councillors spent $121,154 on such expenses over four years; Frankston councillors spent $52,293; and Kingston councillors spent just $5135 on two training courses. No-one at council had disputed any media reports about councillor expenses before Mr Cowie’s public comments last Monday (28 November). The shire refused to disclose councillor expenses spending for the full 2012-16 council term until after October’s council elections (“Four-month delay on costs”, The News 21/11/16). Both Frankston and Kingston councils listed councillor expenses in annual reports for the entire 201216 council term. The shire listed expenses for just two of the four years in its annual reports after the state government forced all councils to publish councillor expenses from the 2014-15 financial year onwards. The shire councillor expenses figures had been requested by The News for four months before council released the expenses information after the elections. Shire chief financial officer Matt Green, who began work at council seven months ago, has refused to name courses, conferences and seminars attended by councillors over the past four years. However, it seems the shire has enough staff and resources to analyse Frankston and Kingston councillor expenses. Councillors will await a report in February before adopting a new councillor expenses policy.
Warriors’ support MONEY raised through Reclink Australia’s 2017 Great Peninsula Paddle on Australia Day (26 January) will be used to re-establish the Westernport Warriors Football Team. Players from the Hastings and Somerville areas are invited to play next season with the team which was previously led by former police officer, Andrew Brady. Hastings MP Neale Burgess and Reclink Australia CEO John Ballis, pictured, met in Hastings last week to show their support for the Warriors and to invite the team to re-join the annual Reclink Football fixture. “Playing with the Warriors was the only means for hundreds of disadvantaged young people and their families in the Hastings and Somerville areas to connect to the wider community and break the cycle of loss of confidence, low self-esteem, unemployment, isolation and boredom,” Mr Burgess said. Mr Ballis said the loss of the team was a “devastating blow to the local community”. Reclink Australia hope for business backing of $15,000 in the Warriors first year.
Western Port News 6 December 2016
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