RATEPAYERS in Frankston may foot the bill for an investigation into a councillor’s behaviour without the outcome ever being made public.
Frankston Council ducked questions from The Times last week about a Councillor Conduct Panel hearing held earlier this month and declined to confirm whether the hearing, which ultimately could cost ratepayers tens of thousands of dollars, had even taken place.
Deputy mayor Cr Colin Hampton was questioned by a panel, facilitated by the Municipal Association of Victoria, over several hours at Frankston Council’s offices on Friday 8 April.
The Times understands the MAV was called in to help investigate alleged derogatory remarks made by Cr Hampton about Cr Darrel Taylor at a public function at Frankston’s The Deck bar in December last year.
The function marked the official launch of a marketing campaign to sell apartments in the planned $80 million Allure Bayside building in Davey St.
Cr Taylor also appeared as a witness at the panel hearing.
Both Cr Hampton and Cr Taylor said they were unable to comment due to Local Government Act regulations on conduct panel hearings.
A MAV representative said the legislated peak body for local government across Victoria takes a purely administrative role in such conduct hearings and the MAV is not told the identity of any councillor being investigated before a hearing.
The MAV merely provides a list so a two-person panel, featuring a legal and governance expert, can be appointed to hear allegations of councillor misconduct.
“We don’t actually know when the briefings are held, where they’re held, who attends and what is said,” the representative said.
Once the panel members complete their report and make a finding on misconduct allegations a report and the decision is sent to the relevant council.
“Whether or not they make that public is up to them. Often councils will table it at a council meeting but they may not make it public.”
Any reports and decision by the independent panel are sent to the relevant council, the parties to the hearing and the Victorian Local Government Minister.
Frankston Council did not respond to repeated requests over several days from The Times asking for confirmation that the panel hearing took place and the identity of the councillor involved.
Council also did not respond to a question asking whether the panel’s report and decision would be publicly released.
Frankston Council decided not to renew its MAV membership last year over concerns council had about governance and a lack of transparency at the peak body (‘Frankston stands alone’, The Times 3/8/15).
Frankston is the only one of Victoria’s 79 councils to suspend its MAV membership.
Darebin ratepayers were hit with a $16,000 bill for a MAV Councillor Conduct Panel hearing last year into the behaviour of two councillors at Darebin Council.
First published in the Frankston Times – 25 April 2016
It has since emerged that Cr Darrel Taylor’s conduct was also probed at the MAV panel hearing. See ‘Second councillor in spotlight‘, 9 May 2016.
This article was amended on 10 May 2016 to clarify that the MAV does not itself make a decision on the outcome of councillor conduct panel hearings and does not receive panel reports or notification of the independent panel members’ decision. That information is passed to the relevant council, the parties to the hearing and the Victorian Local Government Minister.
