- Date:
- 21 Feb 2023
Welcome to the summer issue of our quarterly newsletter.
I would like to congratulate the Victorian councillors who were elected to State Parliament.
The following councillors were elected to the House of Representatives: Kim O’Keeffe (Shepparton), Gabrielle de Vietri (Richmond), Paul Mercurio (Hastings), and Jade Benham (Mildura).
The following councillors were elected to the Legislative Council: Sarah Mansfield and Joe McCracken (Western Victoria), Kat Copsey (Southern Metropolitan), and Trung Luu and Moira Deeming (Western Metropolitan).
These elections have resulted in a number of by-elections to fill vacant roles.
In this issue, we take a look at an issue that continues to trouble the public, councils and councillors – should councillors express public opinions on a matter that will be considered by the council?
In January, my office released a report on councils’ compliance a requirement for policies and documents to be create or updated under the Local Government Act 2020.
Earlier this month we also released our annual report with details of our work during the 2021-22 financial year and finalised our governance examination into Yarriambiack Shire Council. This examination was to check the council’s progress in implementing the recommendations of a report we released in 2019.
Unfortunately, it has not all been good news from councils this month. We had to take action against a former mayor for failure to disclose a conflict of interest and step aside from the decision-making process.
And finally, we have published new fact sheets to help explain some of our work and processes. We are often asked if we can stand down a councillor and have now set out the procedures we follow in a fact sheet. Another fact sheet explains the process of assessing a public interest complaint.
We have also published two fact sheets about our interview processes. These fact sheets can be found on our website – along with other resources for councils.
Michael Stefanovic AM
Chief Municipal Inspector
Councillors must have an open mind
Should councillors express a final opinion about a matter which will be considered by the council?
High level of compliance found in policy review
Councils were largely compliant with legislation which required documents to be created or updated, the Inspectorate found.
Mildura Councillor Jason Modica suspended for two months
Mildura Councillor Jason Modica has been suspended for two months and is ineligible to chair a delegated committee until July after engaging in serious misconduct, a conduct panel has found.
Yarriambiack governance and culture significantly improves
The Inspectorate has found that Yarriambiack Shire Council’s governance and culture has significantly improved since the publication of a 2019 report on the council.
More than 200 investigations completed in 2021-22
The Local Government Inspectorate completed 203 investigations in the 2021–22 financial year, as revealed in our annual report published this month.
New fact sheets for the public
The Inspectorate has published 2 new fact sheets for the public. The new fact sheets aim to help the public understand the legal rules behind 2 complex processes.
What to expect when we interview you
The Inspectorate has published two new fact sheets to let people know what to expect when we interview them. It is part of our plan to improve the way we deal with witnesses or persons of interest.
What's on Summer 2023 edition
What's on in local government - summer 2023 edition
Updated