Municipal monitors have been appointed to three Victorian councils including the City of Casey in order to guide newly elected councillors in their first year of elected representation.
Alongside Casey, Whittlesea City and Strathbogie Shire Council will see council monitors working in tandem with councillors for the next year.
The Minister for Local Government Melissa Horne announced Peter Stephenson and Cameron Boardman as the monitors for Casey.
Stephenson has previously served as an administrator at Strathbogie Shire Council and was appointed as a monitor for the Rural City of Wangaratta and Soth Gippsland Shire Council.
As for Cameron Boardman, he will be transitioning from his role on the panel of administrators for Casey; he is currently a director at the Oceania Cyber Security Centre.
Whittlesea City Council will see Jude Munro and Peita Duncan as its monitors, with Marg Allan appointed as monitor for Strathbogie Shire Council.
Starting on 6 November 2024 until 6 November 2025, these monitors will support good governance and help to prevent the recurrence of issues that led to each council’s dismissal.
Horne said that “Victorians rightly expect newly elected councillors to maintain the high standard of governance put in place by the Administrators at these councils”.
“These experienced monitors will guide incoming councillors in governance practises to help them best serve their community.”
In the new upcoming term, councils will have a uniform councillor code of conduct, creating consistent standards of behaviour and raising accountability.
Horne also added that there will be strengthened powers to deal with councillors who are found to have created a serious risk to health and safety or are preventing their respective council from performing its functions.
In addition, a program of mandatory training has been introduced for councillors and mayors, including annual professional development.
These mentioned reforms have been developed in response to reports and recommendations from IBAC, the chief municipal inspector and other interventions which highlighted the need for stronger processes and powers to resolve conduct issues, and better training councillors in order to perform effectively.
