90-day Administrator Report to Moira Shire Council
Published on 30 June 2023
From: John Tanner AM, Administrator
Preamble
I table this report as a high-level record and observation of my 90 days as Administrator of the Moira Shire Council. My appointment to the position[1] was on 10 March, 2023 for a period of ninety (90) days or until such time as a panel of administrators was appointed for the Council, whichever occurs earlier.
On 6 June, the State government gazetted[2] that I stay on as one of the Panel of Administrators and as its Chair, The other Panel members are Suzanna Sheed, a lawyer and former Independent member for Shepparton in the Victorian Parliament and Dr. Graeme Emonson PSM, formerly Deputy Secretary, Corporate Services Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action in Victoria, a former Executive Director of Local Government Victoria, CEO of the City of Wangaratta for five years to 2002 and CEO of Knox City Council from 2002 to 2016.
Introduction
It has been my privilege to work with the Council staff and with many Moira residents across most of the Shire over the past 90 days in my role as Administrator. As I have said at the start of my appointment on 10 March, my role, in effect, is that of the Mayor and the Councillors who were replaced under an Act of Parliament on 10 March, 2023.
In taking up the position, I also said my focus was on three specific areas -
- ensuring Council services are delivered effectively,
- the health and wellbeing of staff, and
- strengthening engagement and relationships between the community and the Council.
I was also focussed on addressing the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into the Council and the Council’s Plan for 2021-2025, which sets the framework to support Council decisions on budget allocation and service delivery.
The reset approach
The past 90-days has been concentrated on ‘resetting’ the Council agenda so the Council and its staff could move on from the Commission of Inquiry’s report.
This report was most damning on the Council and how it operated. However, it presented the Council with the important opportunity to ‘address the past and build the future’.
This approach also had its foundation in the perception of the Council with its stakeholders; the ratepayers. The community satisfaction survey[3][4], to which all Councils in Victoria participate, has continued to show a decline in satisfaction with the Moira Council over the past 10 years, most markedly over the last few years.
We cannot allow this trend to continue because it shows that there are fundamental flaws in the way we operate and have operated.
Therefore, in looking back over my period, I believe adoption of the ‘reset’ approach was the best way I could achieve a new direction and, most importantly, start to rebuild confidence and trust in the Council and its operations. As the Minister for Local government, The Hon. Melissa Horne, has said: ”It is vital that every council properly represents its community.” She highlighted that the ‘findings of the Commission of Inquiry demanded drastic action be taken in the interests of local residents and businesses.” Nothing could be clearer from my perspective that a ‘reset’ was required.
However, I’m realistic enough not to expect any significant turnaround in public perception in 90 days. Like any organisation with adverse findings against them, we need to be flexible, agile and thoughtful of our people and operations, but also our community – our ratepayers. This is why I have set a ‘new path’ to the way forward and the seek to turn the community’s perception around.
What we are doing - internally
In looking at what we are doing, the overall strategy of the ‘reset’ has been to provide a ‘pathway forward’ in addressing the community’s perception issues and the Commission’s findings. This ‘new path’ is our way forward.
This approach has also been adopted to addressing the concerns of the staff and how they operate and, most importantly, how they want to operate. We have broken this direction down to the approach of ‘getting our house in order’. I have used this as the foundation for all my meetings staff, especially in wanting to hear from them about what is needed to change.
I must say that this engagement has been most rewarding. It has enabled me to not only get to know the staff, but also to give me the insights to how we should operate and reframe our approach to stakeholder issues and their needs.
A key foundation to this has been also my desire to lift the morale of the staff which has been in decline since - and before – the Commission’s report.
By way of example, we reinstated the Reward and Recognition initiative which had lapsed. The awards recognise the commitment of staff to their work and to enhancing workplace culture, supporting our values and making Moira an excellent place to work. We handed out more 30 awards to recognise the work and service staff ranging from five (5) years to twenty-five (25) years. This type of program is fundamental to the direction we are taking.
The administration also have put considerable thought, consultation and planning into the restructure plans for the organisation. These plans are designed to ensure there is greater depth to the operations of the Council and to having the right people in the jobs to effectively carry out the work. The Council executive is now in the staff consultation stage, and I look forward to them finalising the structure so it can come to Council for consideration and for implementation as soon as possible.
There is also underway an organisation’s Values and culture program which is designed to create a comprehensive and continuous focus on providing the best environment for staff to achieve a more focussed culture in the organisation and better outcomes in their work. We want the Council to be ‘a great place to work’ and for its values and culture to be the underlying foundations for this. Like any organisation, this is an essential to ‘moving ahead’ from the past.
The acting CEO, Joshua Lewis has also instigated a weekly staff report to ensure staff are aware of some of the broader activities in which the executive and the organisation are engaged. It is this information, on top of the Council’s weekly staff letter and its continued community engagement information advertisements in local newspapers and in social media that both internal and external engagement has been stepped-up to ensure the Council is taking community leadership and engagement seriously.
In line with the Commission's report and recommendations, we also ensuring that the Council’s internal and external policies are up to date and accountable. The Council operates under more than 40 policies, from community recognition to employment and remuneration, to complaint handling and volunteer recognition.
These policies are fundamental to how we operate and are a corner stone to sound governance and stewardship.
What we are doing - externally
In looking at external awareness, community engagement has been one of my key undertakings. I have conducted, or been involved in more than 40 meetings
with community groups, organisational representative, or individuals to listen to their views, concerns or wants, as well as to reassure them of my commitment, or provide them with an understanding of the issues Council has had to consider in making its decisions.
These meetings have ranged from grant recipients to budget feedbacks, flood mitigation, district health, libraries boards, community leadership and Mayors and CEOs of other regional shires and councils.
I have also participated in a number of community activities, such as the Council’s Achiever Awards (see below) and the Anzac Day ceremonies; this involvement also saw a number of Executive staff taking a role in local services throughout the Shire.
I strongly believe that everyone in the community should have ‘a say’ in important projects and activities that the Council is undertaking for rate payers.
Through feedback, community engagement enables us to listen and, in turn, demonstrate the importance of community contributions to our decision-making. It builds deeper, stronger and more trusting relationships between the Council and our communities.
Naturally, not all decisions meet everyone’s expectations, and some cannot include consultation because of the confidentiality and regulations associated with them. But the engagement process does, in the main, enabled people to contribute to the discussions and decisions. All my decisions are based on the strong belief that the Council must build and strengthen the community for not only now, but also the future and future generations. The decisions must be based also on the principles of sound governance, stewardship and financial responsibility.
We have done this, for instance, with the Yarrawonga Multisport complex; the Yarrawonga Library, Events and Performance Precinct (YLEPP); the proposed Council’s Budget and capital works program; the Numurkah Flood Implementation Report and Numurkah Flood Study Community Reference Group and the supporting agencies, and the All abilities Access and Inclusion Plan.
I have also extended this to the Health and Education sectors of the municipality, taking into account both the health providers, such as NCN Health and Yarrawonga District Health and our secondary colleges.
I strongly believe the formation of this strategic alliance will broaden co-operation between local government (Moira Shire Council), and our education and health sectors to deliver better outcomes for the Moira Shire in education, health and general community wellbeing. It will enable us to plan better, enhance policies and services and help to provide greater community awareness of the services.
It will also expand on the Council’s strategy for wellbeing for all ages, our mental health plans and the all abilities access and inclusion plans. For our community to growth and prosper, we have to take into account what the health and education sectors are telling us about how to build on the community’s needs and desires so we can have greater community resilience and capacity.
I look forward to expanding this in a similar way with our business and industry sectors where we have such a wealth of opportunity in horticulture, tourism, manufacturing, small business and the arts. To furnish this, we now have an Economic Opportunities Study. This is a comprehensive analysis of the shire with population and industries growth forecasts which will be essential to positioning the Shire as a growth opportunity for the future.
I am certain this approach will provide significant outcomes in the way we all operate within the municipality and increase our prosperity as an innovative, inclusive and supportive community.
An excellent example of this was the Council’s Achiever Awards in April. There were 40 nominations across the five (5) categories which was an outstanding response. Each and every one of them deserved an award for what they did for the Shire and our community.
This is community leadership at its best. It is the perfect illustration of what the Commission of Inquiry was highlighting as important to the Council’s operations. When you have 16 community organisations ranging from Lions Clubs to Rotary Clubs, to pre-school groups, sporting clubs and emergency services all contributing to make this community better, I am pleased to say that there is a community spirit in this municipality that is second-to-none.
This was exemplified also by the community response to the recent major fatalities the Shire experienced, especially when we lost the lives of five people - four of whom were workers from overseas - in one single road accident. Through this tragedy - the worst the shire has experienced – people’s lives changed forever. However, the community’s response was overwhelming. Two young people brought the community together in a vigil that saw more than 300 people gather to express their condolences and support to the families of those killed and those affected by it.
The significant of the event and other road tragedies we have experienced in recent times was such it was appropriate for the Council to recognise not only those who lost their lives, but also the community’s strong sense of a collective spirit and support for each other. Our memorial to this in Federation Park, which was unveiled in June, signifies this sense of belonging and how it connects us as people to our community. It is a collective identity that distinguishes Moira.
What we are doing – the Council
As I said at the beginning of by appointment, I wanted to set us on the pathway to the future to build the Shire and a positive reputation. My role as Council has given me the privilege of beginning this journey.
In the past four Council meetings we have been able to approve more than 20 initiatives.
They have ranged from the first round of community strengthening grants; to the approval for the ‘go ahead’ for the Yarrawonga Multisport Complex, the Yarrawonga Library, Events and Performance Precinct, the Numurkah Flood Plan, Stage 1; along with updates to the Moira Creative Arts Hubs and policies around our tree maintenance programs, play safe areas, rural roads line marking program, the Wellbeing for All Ages Strategy and the Community Engagement policy. We also reviewed the quarterly Budget for the Shire (March) and the Draft Budget for 2023/24, which went to the community for consultation before coming to Council. This Budget will come before this June Council meeting.
I also awarded the future contract for our waste collection services. This 10-year contract was the subject of one of the most rigorous reviews and assessment processes that the Council has undertaken.
It was important for me to be assured that the administration had not only comprehensively undertaken its assessment and evaluation processes with this tender, but also that it put forward the ‘best value for money’ contract for the Moira ratepayers.
Although there were some public calls for community consultation in this review, this process would have breached confidentiality and probity regulations and undermined the whole tender program. I would never allow such a breach as it would undermine the credibility, trust and confidence that are essential for any Council with its constituents. Therefore, I believe the municipality will be well served by my decision.
In looking at the Commission of Inquiry’s report, the Council has moved to address all the recommendations. Among some of the key ones is the community leadership recommendation. Council has updated its Community Engagement Plan and is looking at opportunities with the likes of the Fairley Leadership Program to specifically develop and maximise community leadership for Moira residents. This is aimed at young people to become community leaders and participate in civic life and, in turn, strengthen engagement and relationships between the Council and the community. The key focus of this approach is to select and enable participants to realise their full potential and demonstrate leadership through immersive and adaptive programs.
We have also begun addressing the illegal disposal of asbestos contaminated fill through a series of identification and remediation initiatives and public awareness. This is ongoing as the Council moves to remediate the sites in Tungamah and Strathmerton with specially appointed teams and ensuring that all its initiatives are reported to IABC with appropriate highlights of the progress. The first report was delivered in May, and another is being prepared now.
The Commission’s findings on the mismanagement of two flagship projects – the Yarrawonga library and the Yarrawonga Multisport Stadium – have also been addressed, as reported earlier.
The Council conducted a site inspection of the library site prior to construction getting underway this month. The stadium, which had been described as a ‘white elephant’, has now been roundly welcomed by the community as plans were approved in the May Council meeting.
The Numurkah flood mitigation work is also underway with community consultation being held and floodplain management plans now in place.
On the policy front, we have revised Community Engagement Policy, adopted at the May Council Meeting and the Disciplinary Policy and Procedure, endorsed by Executive Leadership Team on 27 April.
The Recruitment and Selection Policy and Procedure review is in progress and has been circulated through the Employee Consultative Committee for feedback.
The Procurement Policy review has started with processing mapping to determine control gaps.
The Customer Service Standards are also being reviewed.
Next phase – pathway to the future
As I enter into my next phase as the Chair of the Panel of Administrators, I believe the ‘reset’ direction for the Council during my 90 days is now well established.
I am confident it will give the Panel the pathway to make this Council the best in regional and rural Victoria.
I look forward to taking on my role as Chair of the Panel with Ms. Suzanna Sheed and Dr. Graeme Emonson PSM
[1] The terms and conditions of the appointment are fixed by the Minister for Local Government in accordance with section 7(e) of the Local Government (Moira Shire Council) Act 2023.
[2] https://www.gazette.vic.gov.au/gazette/Gazettes2023/GG2023S291.pdf
[3] We have now moved to a quarterly assessment of the Council’s performance in line with a number of other Councils. This will enable us to get timely feedback on what we are doing right and wrong with our operations.
[4] 2023 Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey co-ordinated by the Department of Government Services on behalf of Victorian councils