LATEST: Elected councillors will not return to Brimbank until the 2016 elections, as Star Weekly exclusively reported this week.
Legislation introduced in the Victorian Parliament on Wednesday night will extend the term of Brimbank council administrators who were due to hand over to councillors in March, 2015.
Local Government Minister Tim Bull said the Local Government (Brimbank City Council) Amendment Bill 2014 aligns Brimbank City Council elections, currently scheduled for March 2015, with the October 2016 statewide council elections.
“I have met with Brimbank residents and ratepayers and heard their concerns about the potential cost of $1.3 million in council rates if two elections are held within 19 months,” he said.
“A stand-alone election for Brimbank is expected to cost ratepayers $700,000, so the government’s decision will make a substantial saving for the community.
“Elections in both March 2015 and October 2016 mean the first elected council, since the council was dismissed in 2009, will only serve a 19-month term in office before Brimbank’s voters are again required to pay for another election and choose potentially another set of councillors via the normal local government election cycle that applies across Victoria’s 79 councils.
“Extending the panel’s term will also allow the administrators to embed best practice within the organisation before returning to elected representation,” Mr Bull said.
Community satisfaction survey results demonstrate support for the administrators with an increase from 5.66 out of 10 in 2009 to 6.67 in 2011. The overall performance score increased from 60 per cent in 2012 to 62 per cent in 2013, which is above the statewide average.
Brimbank council was dismissed on November 18, 2009, following the Ombudsman’s findings of profound failures of governance and a recommendation to remove the council by an Inspector of Municipal Administration.
