FRANKSTON’S mayor and deputy mayor will spend an extra three weeks in charge of council. At council’s most recent public meeting, the mayor Kris Bolam raised a proposal to extend the terms of the mayor and deputy mayor by three weeks. The election date for a new mayor was pushed from 19 November to 10 December.
Interim Frankston Council CEO Cam Arullanantham said “council’s decision makes a December date more practicable to accommodate the current mayor’s outstanding commitments, which include attending a housing roundtable meeting with the involvement of the Federal Minister for Homelessness and Housing; hosting a formal visit by the Ambassador of Fiji; and concluding the recruitment, appointment and transition of the permanent Chief Executive Officer as part of the CEO Remuneration and Employment Committee.
“Council’s decision is based on section 26(4) of the Local Government Act 2020 which enables council to fix the date for the next mayoral election by resolution at any meeting.” Section 26 (4) of the Local Government Act 2020 reads “if the mayor is elected for a one year term, the next election of the mayor must be held on a day to be determined by the council that is as close to the end of the one year term as is reasonably practicable.”
The mayoral term extension was an amendment to a Governance Matters Report, which bundled together multiple council matters. The same approved motion also extended the mayor’s upcoming overseas trip, which will now run from 23 September until 12 October. It read “the cost of these additional four nights of accommodation is within the existing cost of $8500 for accommodation previously resolved by council, which is no additional cost to council.” Council approved spending $8500 of ratepayers’ money for the mayor’s accommodation earlier this year. The mayor will represent council at meetings in Fiji, China, Japan, and the USA.
“Mayor Bolam will cover the cost of the airfares and incidentals, with no cost to council,” the council motion approved this month read. “Mayor Bolam has submitted receipts to the amount of $7240.56, well below the council resolution.”
Crs Sue Baker, Brad Hill, and Cherie Wanat voted against the motion, and Crs Bolam, David Asker, Nathan Butler, Steffie Conroy, Emily Green, and Michael O’Reilly voted in favour. The mayor temporarily removed himself from the chair, handing the reins to deputy mayor Steffie Conroy, for the debate on the matter.
First published in the Frankston Times – 23 September 2025