Council proposal to address breach of delegated authority

By Anna McGuinness

Aug 15, 2022

On the agenda: Greater Shepparton City Council will meet on Tuesday, August 16. Photo by Megan Fisher

Greater Shepparton City Council’s chief executive will have greater power to authorise transactions under a proposal to address a minor breach of the current arrangement.

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The chief executive was authorised to make decisions and take necessary actions to ensure the day-to-day running of council services without requiring a resolution of council.

Council’s internal auditors identified a transaction by the chief executive exceeding the expenditure limit of $2 million.

The $2,072,071 transaction was funds collected by council for the Fire Services Property Levy on behalf of the Commissioner of State Revenue.

The possibility of further breaches has been identified with the Victorian Government expected to increase the levy used to fund the state’s fire and emergency services.

As a result, a review of the chief executive’s powers was carried out with new conditions to come before council at the ordinary meeting on Tuesday, August 16.

A key outcome of the review was to separate discretionary and non-discretionary expenditure with limits on each.

For non-discretionary payments required to fulfil a statutory duty, it’s proposed to double the limit, up to $4 million.

Other items of business at the meeting include the introduction of a new application process for memorial plaques, releasing the draft RiverConnect Strategic Plan for community consultation and adopting a new destination brand name.