Dear Mr.
Martin Date: 24 April 2018
Your Ref: TIME TO JUSTIFY YOURSELF.
A point has been reached in your tenure where you should be required to quantify, qualify and adequately define your overall performance as Chief Executive Officer, in writing , to the York community, identifying all the constructive developments created by you, and your administration, including positive financial investments in the future. This should include a numerical financial valuation of expenditure to return.
The period in question is over the past 2 years.
York’s recently well publicised trial program to increase dementia awareness in the Shire is a positive health care move forward, but is not a constructive development created by you, your staff or Council. (Although one of your Executive staff could be accused, by the more cynical, of appearing to want to hog some limelight.)
It would also be hard to believe that the impending opening of a top quality hostelry by locals is as a direct result of any positive initiatives by you, your staff or Council other than an arguably improper offer of funding. However, there may be some positive financial synergies if Shire President, David Wallace’s past indication of a possible local intent to develop a microbrewery and/ or distillery comes to fruition.
You should realize that several legitimate queries have been made regarding serious Local Government Area matters to the Minister for Local Government, the Hon. David Templeman, with reference to possible irregularities in your discharge of your duties. The Minister has not appeared to endorse your performance, rather that it is currently outside his jurisdiction.
There are various incidences where you have appeared to have been inactive in providing appropriate written responses to legitimate questions raised with you by the public, often in the public interest.
Where you have responded, explanations provided by you could be described as having a degree of ambiguity.
It appears that, on some occasions, you may be prepared to defend the potentially indefensible regarding alleged inadequate and unprofessional actions attributed to your staff.
Your Ref: TIME TO JUSTIFY YOURSELF.
A point has been reached in your tenure where you should be required to quantify, qualify and adequately define your overall performance as Chief Executive Officer, in writing , to the York community, identifying all the constructive developments created by you, and your administration, including positive financial investments in the future. This should include a numerical financial valuation of expenditure to return.
The period in question is over the past 2 years.
York’s recently well publicised trial program to increase dementia awareness in the Shire is a positive health care move forward, but is not a constructive development created by you, your staff or Council. (Although one of your Executive staff could be accused, by the more cynical, of appearing to want to hog some limelight.)
It would also be hard to believe that the impending opening of a top quality hostelry by locals is as a direct result of any positive initiatives by you, your staff or Council other than an arguably improper offer of funding. However, there may be some positive financial synergies if Shire President, David Wallace’s past indication of a possible local intent to develop a microbrewery and/ or distillery comes to fruition.
You should realize that several legitimate queries have been made regarding serious Local Government Area matters to the Minister for Local Government, the Hon. David Templeman, with reference to possible irregularities in your discharge of your duties. The Minister has not appeared to endorse your performance, rather that it is currently outside his jurisdiction.
There are various incidences where you have appeared to have been inactive in providing appropriate written responses to legitimate questions raised with you by the public, often in the public interest.
Where you have responded, explanations provided by you could be described as having a degree of ambiguity.
It appears that, on some occasions, you may be prepared to defend the potentially indefensible regarding alleged inadequate and unprofessional actions attributed to your staff.
It may be time that you came to
realize that such a defense could reflect poorly on your staff management
skills, professionalism and community standing.
A major bone of contention is that there is an apparent continuing refusal by you to reveal the qualifications held by highly paid members of both past and current staff that have been engaged or are engaged in overseeing important multi-million dollar asset management and maintenance programs.
This could legitimately be claimed to be of detriment to the rights of the community, far outweighing the supposed rights of the individual.
Of particular concern is the apparent endemic and systemic failure to properly implement the recommendations of the Talis Report since its inception. Many may find this situation unacceptable.
You personally have validated concerns regarding the issues associated with some construction projects last year directly related to this report.
This potentially reflects poor overseeing management by you regarding assets, including your management of financial issues involving these assets.
In particular- if insufficient funding has been allocated to undertake extremely important community projects such as roads, now, and for the future, and to ensure it proceeds to mandatory standards.
By timing and inference it appears that you may be suggesting, in public, that your previous Executive Manager Infrastructure and Development may bear some responsibility for what is described as issues of concern associated with some construction projects during his abruptly ended tenure.
Also I am sure you are fully aware of the excuses that have been made by past Shire of York executive officers and Presidents regarding keeping accurate records (for fair comment and review) of important meetings involving ratepayers and the public. It was claimed by them to be an unjustifiable, financially non-viable, excessive resource intensive process.
This has in the past involved investigation by a Department of Local Government official of breaches of the State Records Act 2000 focussing on the inability of Shire of York staff to keep proper records across the board.
It may be that very little has changed since then and the Shire of York’s Public and Private Records Archive is still of a quality and lack of serviceability to warrant re-investigation under the Act.
Regarding what is claimed to be unjustifiable expenditure, as Chief Executive Officer, I would like to remind you that you have in excess of $2.5 million in employee related resources that equate to one quarter of your annual budget. This may be something that you may wish to reflect upon.
Another introspection should be that despite the vastly improved personal relationships between you, your staff and members of the local community you have failed to meet numerous, all important, Local Government Standards set to show financial and administrative compliance and competence.
Currently your regime is well below average and appears, on face value, to be well below the standards supposedly set by the previous long term incumbent, Ray Hooper.
Your response could be that York is in a serious predicament because of actions taken by Mr. Hooper and previous staff. Two years on it is an excuse that is starting to wear thin as many York home owners struggle desperately to try and pay their exorbitant rate valuations.
Any calculations compiled using Gross Rental Value compared to Median House Prices compared to the quality and quantity of goods and services supplied by the Shire of York, compared to between 85% and 90% of other Local government Areas, does not compute.
There are persistent rumours that the Shire of York, or its administration, or both may now be facing multiple litigation proceedings?
Given the circumstances, you may wish to respond to this letter through the appropriate channel, being the York and Districts Community Matters publication. I believe you pay the proprietor to publish what ostensibly is Shire of York propaganda.
I await your response but will not bother to hold my breath.
Yours sincerely
David Taylor
Shire of York ratepayer.
A major bone of contention is that there is an apparent continuing refusal by you to reveal the qualifications held by highly paid members of both past and current staff that have been engaged or are engaged in overseeing important multi-million dollar asset management and maintenance programs.
This could legitimately be claimed to be of detriment to the rights of the community, far outweighing the supposed rights of the individual.
Of particular concern is the apparent endemic and systemic failure to properly implement the recommendations of the Talis Report since its inception. Many may find this situation unacceptable.
You personally have validated concerns regarding the issues associated with some construction projects last year directly related to this report.
This potentially reflects poor overseeing management by you regarding assets, including your management of financial issues involving these assets.
In particular- if insufficient funding has been allocated to undertake extremely important community projects such as roads, now, and for the future, and to ensure it proceeds to mandatory standards.
By timing and inference it appears that you may be suggesting, in public, that your previous Executive Manager Infrastructure and Development may bear some responsibility for what is described as issues of concern associated with some construction projects during his abruptly ended tenure.
Also I am sure you are fully aware of the excuses that have been made by past Shire of York executive officers and Presidents regarding keeping accurate records (for fair comment and review) of important meetings involving ratepayers and the public. It was claimed by them to be an unjustifiable, financially non-viable, excessive resource intensive process.
This has in the past involved investigation by a Department of Local Government official of breaches of the State Records Act 2000 focussing on the inability of Shire of York staff to keep proper records across the board.
It may be that very little has changed since then and the Shire of York’s Public and Private Records Archive is still of a quality and lack of serviceability to warrant re-investigation under the Act.
Regarding what is claimed to be unjustifiable expenditure, as Chief Executive Officer, I would like to remind you that you have in excess of $2.5 million in employee related resources that equate to one quarter of your annual budget. This may be something that you may wish to reflect upon.
Another introspection should be that despite the vastly improved personal relationships between you, your staff and members of the local community you have failed to meet numerous, all important, Local Government Standards set to show financial and administrative compliance and competence.
Currently your regime is well below average and appears, on face value, to be well below the standards supposedly set by the previous long term incumbent, Ray Hooper.
Your response could be that York is in a serious predicament because of actions taken by Mr. Hooper and previous staff. Two years on it is an excuse that is starting to wear thin as many York home owners struggle desperately to try and pay their exorbitant rate valuations.
Any calculations compiled using Gross Rental Value compared to Median House Prices compared to the quality and quantity of goods and services supplied by the Shire of York, compared to between 85% and 90% of other Local government Areas, does not compute.
There are persistent rumours that the Shire of York, or its administration, or both may now be facing multiple litigation proceedings?
Given the circumstances, you may wish to respond to this letter through the appropriate channel, being the York and Districts Community Matters publication. I believe you pay the proprietor to publish what ostensibly is Shire of York propaganda.
I await your response but will not bother to hold my breath.
Yours sincerely
David Taylor
Shire of York ratepayer.
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