WHO WILL GUARD THE GUARDS THEMSELVES?

‘Chicken Little’ otherwise known as Local Government Councillors may feel that the sky has just fallen in on them. There will be no more protection from being individually ‘suspended and dismissed’ when the Local Government Amendment (Suspension and Dismissal) Bill, 2018, is ratified by Parliament.

As usual there is a big problem.

The Minister, David Templeman, has consulted with the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) and the Local Government Professionals Australia (LGPA) regarding the putting of thumbscrews on elected members.

Why-is the question- as this Minister and his Department, are fundamentally, indeed totally responsible for the Local Government Act, 1995, its Amendments and all interpretations of this Act!

To deal with WALGA and LGPA at this level of consultation is akin to throwing two hungry foxes into Chicken Little’s hen house as neither should have been allowed any influence on this amendment’s decision making process.

These two Local Government leaches, who mainly survive by financially exsanguinating local councils and ratepayers, are dedicated to protecting those Chief-Executive Officers and other Senior Local Government employees guilty of abysmal levels of contracted performance from the wrath of totally disenfranchised, ripped-off ratepayers.

Key Performance Indicators are not considered Key Pay-packet Inducements as many of these employees do not perform to anywhere near local community expectations, but with their inadequacies often allegedly enhanced, then hidden and defended by WALGA and the LGPA.

Ratepayers have no say in who will be the extremely highly paid, underqualified employees, who are supposed to act on their behalf and in their best interest.

Selecting these employees is a service that WALGA is more than happy to provide to unsuspecting, often gullible Shire Presidents and interview panellists who have no idea how to tell a silk purse from a sows’ ear.

As an example Ray Hooper managed to re-invent himself, as a senior shire executive, at least four times, maybe more, allegedly supported by WALGA.

But far more importantly, in the case of Rural and Remote Shire Councils, is the provision of candidates to select a CEO who has the overall abilities and business acumen to keep their town alive.

WALGA has an oxy-moronic Conflict-of-Interest that would have any other agency hanging its head in shame. It represents all players in the game from councillors, to administration to ratepayers, with the last innocent, legally and politically unprotected group picking up the tab.

LGPA just ensures a lot of Local Government Executive Officers are the most under-achieving, underworked and overpaid bureaucrats in WA.

It is a shocking indictment of a public servant bureaucracy gone stark, raving mad.

So here should be the next bill- the LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCIL RATEPAYER PROTECTION BILL, 2018.

This bill is to be developed in consultation with WA Ratepayers Associations, the Department of Local Government, the Attorney Generals Department, the Western Australian Corruption and Crime Commission, the Western Australian Police and the State Ombudsman.

This bill will give the Minister the power to suspend and/or order an individual local government officer to undertake remedial action on behalf of ratepayers when the Minister is satisfied that it is inappropriate for the officer to continue to act as an employee of a council without intervention.

The triggers for this intervention are:

 1. a local government officer is charged with an offense, whether criminal,
     civil or otherwise, that, if convicted will disqualify them from undertaking
     any official employment duties or colludes in or deliberately withholds
     information of such an offense of which they should have reasonably
     known.

2 . a quorum of local ratepayers from the relevant Local Government Area
     has referred an allegation or allegations of a serious breach or recurrent
     breach of laws in full force and effect in the State of Western Australia,
     including the Local  Government Act 1995, and any of its subsequent
     Amendments, to the Departmental Chief Executive Officer to be referred to
     the State Administrative Tribunal or other agency of appropriate     
     jurisdiction.

3.  the local government officer is failing to perform their role, functions or
     duties as defined in the Act and in breach of their contract of employment
     and the Minister is satisfied after consultation with ratepayers that the
     seriousness or duration of the suspected failure requires various levels of
     intervention: or


4.  the local government officer’s conduct is adversely affecting the ability of
     another person, including but not strictly limited to fellow officers,
     councillors, ratepayers and individual community members or local
     government itself to perform their duties and functions, exercise their
     common  law rights and engage in lawful business activities without
     excessive, unwarranted local by-law constraints enforced on the
     development of local private commercial enterprise.

The purpose of this reform is designed firstly to protect the ratepayer, then local community and public interest and insure there is a correct interpretation of the system of local government to facilitate an assurance that the relevant Minister gets off his arse to intervene in a timely manner.

On another matter, the President of the Shire of York, David Wallace and his Chief Executive Officer, Paul Martin, and whoever else wishes to interfere, the raising of domestic rate valuations for the 2018-2019 Financial Year should not be considered an option.

Otherwise an independent evaluation of the fairness and equitability of any such rate rise, based on supposedly necessary future funding requirements of the Shire of York, will be undertaken based on the Shire of York’s independent external audit performance review for the 2017-2018 Financial Year.

If considered necessary there will be an evaluation of the current rate levy imposed on Undeveloped Land.

There will be three assessments requested from independent financial experts:-

Is the current levy considered to be fair and equitable-
 
1. when compared to rates levied on local domestic properties?

2. when compared to rates levied on local commercial    
     properties?

3. when evaluated against the future financial needs of the town 
      of York to have sufficient funding to move forward?

David Taylor