Q&A: Onkaparinga mayor Lorraine Rosenberg admits scrutiny over staff spending is catalyst for reforms

ONKAPARINGA Council has received “a huge wake-up call” and needs to take “major steps to reform” in the wake of public scrutiny over staff spending, mayor Lorraine Rosenberg says.

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ONKAPARINGA Council has received “a huge wake-up call” and needs to take “major steps to reform” in the wake of public scrutiny over staff spending, mayor Lorraine Rosenberg says.

However, she insists her council’s finances are not being mismanaged, and publishing details of staff credit card bills would be a “lazy response” to calls for greater transparency.

The council’s chief executive, Mark Dowd, this week fully repaid his $6818 ratepayer-funded joining fee to Kooyonga Golf Club a year after it was revealed by The Advertiser.

Ms Rosenberg, who originally defended the fee as a strategy to attract Chinese investors, on Wednesday said it should never have happened.

“It is not my role to justify anything in relation to repayment of the establishment fee,” Ms Rosenberg said.

“Frankly, the whole golf club establishment fee process was a complete and utter mistake.

“We should have responded accordingly from day one.”

The council is also reviewing its credit card guidelines after Freedom of Information documents showed staff spent thousands of dollars on items including, flowers, an Apple watch for Mr Dowd and an Adelaide Oval rooftop climb.

Many ratepayers protested Onkaparinga Council’s expenses at a rally on Tuesday night. Picture: Celeste Villani

Ms Rosenberg last week refused to answer a series of questions about staff spending, finances and transparency, saying it would be inappropriate to do so before the council meeting on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, she broke her silence with written responses to all 10 questions.

She said most credit spending was done in good faith and for appropriate reasons.

However, she believed some transactions “although within ‘guidelines’, are not acceptable in the ‘real’ world”.

“First and foremost, council’s finances are not being mismanaged,” she said.

She was not convinced publishing the council’s credit card bills was the right response.

“The council should have received a huge wake-up call from this episode and be taking major steps to reform.

A protest placard on Tuesday night. Picture: Celeste Villani

“It strikes me this request is a lazy response to appear to be doing something.

“The longer and more difficult response is to manage the culture, rules and regulations around credit card use and bring that into an accepted practice.”

Ms Rosenberg, who plans to run for re-election in November, was reluctant to comment on the council’s culture.

“Blind Freddy can see what the culture is within that place, and you certainly don’t need me to describe it. Just come along to a meeting and see it in action.”

A draft report on policy changes to credit card spending is scheduled to be presented to the council by April 17.

The Q & A with Lorraine Rosenberg

Mayor Lorraine Rosenberg responds to questions about the council’s transparency and spending.

Have you got any concerns about spending by staff on council credit cards? If so, what are they?

Staff throughout the organisation are issued with organisational credit cards and have various expectations put alongside that card and the way it is used. In my view this question is falsely loaded to cast ill intent on the whole of the organisation, where the vast majority of usage by the majority of staff has been done in good faith and for efficiency and valid and appropriate reasons. Your question is therefore misleading because it tries to tie those staff and those documents of expenditure into the current media frenzy and this is not appropriate. So to answer the question you should have more rightly asked — i.e. concerns regarding staff spending on credit cards as reported on Today Tonight.

I and all councillors and indeed the public are yet to see the detailed breakdown of that expenditure e.g. the quoted expenditure for alcohol purchase has been explained verbally to date as it was largely purchased for resale at our visitor information centre and for events. This leaves a much smaller amount for internal use. However, what I haven’t seen is the income ledger — i.e. if it was bought for resale there should be income attached to the sale — then I can get a full picture of what is happening within that purchase.

On the balance of probability currently this is expenditure that will be of ‘concern’.

What assurances can you provide people that their rates are being spent for the benefit of the community?

The council sets the budget each year after long deliberation (workshops, meetings and special meetings) and we hold a public meeting to discuss it with our community. We produce legislatively requested annual reports, annual business plan and a 10-year financial plan. We have an audit committee, an internal auditor and an external auditor. Our four budget reviews are discussed and published on the public agenda. Our debt percentage ratio, rate rebate (mandatory and discretionary) are discussed in public. Our rate is set at a public meeting.

Onkaparinga mayor Lorraine Rosenberg.

Our delegations for spending is decided at a public meeting. Many decisions for extra spending over the budgeted decision is made in public. I would expect our community to respect that level of scrutiny as appropriate to allow them to be satisfied that the rate expenditure was as per budget.

Where there is a gap is the underlying detail within each budget project area or program. The layers under the main budget are areas that many would find difficult to drill down into. For that reasons the assessments can be made only via what was budgets in an area, against what is expended — not how it is expended.

I am confident that we can always drive greater efficiency. That is why I had service reviews started while our previous CEO was still here. That is why I consistently say we need to consolidate, not spend like there is no tomorrow. That is why I believe we must commercialise where we can to lift pressure on rates. That is why I am so active in economic development to build our local economy and local jobs.

Do you support moves by elected members to have credit card statements publicly available?

Asking for credit card statements to be on the public agenda is not addressing the issue. This is an kneejerk easy so-called fix to a much bigger problem. My belief is it is not the credit cards that are the issue, but rather what they are used to buy.

For instance, there is a big concern about the credit card spend on alcohol. Is it the credit card use or the purchase of alcohol? You know it is the purchase. Therefore it strikes me this request is a lazy response to appear to be doing something. The longer and more difficult response is to manage the culture, rules and regulations around credit card use and bring that into an accepted practice. There are thousands of legitimate and valid credit card purchases made by our staff on a day by day basis. Why punish all our staff for what we recognise as a smaller group problem. There are much better ways to manage this. Even the Auditor-General, in recent correspondence, indicated credit cards are efficient and appropriate ways for council staff to do their job. Let them get on with their job and address the real issue at hand.

How can you justify the details of Mark Dowd’s repayment plan for his Kooyonga Golf Club establishment fee being kept secret from ratepayers? Have you ever asked Mr Dowd to release details of the repayment plan?

It is not my role to justify anything in relation to repayment of the establishment fee. Frankly, the whole golf club establishment fee process was a complete and utter mistake and should never have happened. We should have responded accordingly from day one. However, the purposeful misreporting that has occurred since then is not acceptable either. The elected body publicly did not support requesting him to repay the money.

Onkaparinga Council chief executive Mark Dowd.

He made that decision privately by himself. What he does about the repayment is for him to decide, unless the Council directs otherwise. There is no requirement for him to release the conditions of the repayment, either from me or the council. The council is his employer, not the mayor. He was asked to pay it today and he has.

How can you justify your campaign against rate capping in light of your own council’s recent spending?

It is interesting that your very question indicates you believe the councillors and mayor are responsible and aware of all the credit card expenditure within the City of Onkaparinga.

I hardly think you really believe that, but it makes an interesting byline. Rate capping is a lazy, ill-considered and unsuccessful policy.

In NSW it has been in place for 40 years — ask them how their communities are suffering.

I just did while in Canberra with the president and immediate past president of the NSW Local Government Association, and I have it on tape. This policy has devastated local government and is a back door method of forcing councils to become non-sustainable and pushed into amalgamations.

See the history of this also in NSW. Victoria has had rate capping for only two years and already they are reducing spend on road maintenance.

Rate capping sounds really popular but be aware that eventually you will lose more than you gain simply by the things that will need to be cut.

And believe me, no government will pick them up. They will be cut and no government will stop cost shifting to local government.

Rate capping will kill services. Rates are spent (along with other council incomes) according to the budget (and) all expenditure happens within that process.

How would you describe the culture within your council? What, if anything, needs to be done to change it?

How would my description of my view of council’s culture improve relations within the chamber? Blind Freddy can see what the culture is within that place, and you certainly don’t need me to describe it. Just come along to a meeting and see it in action. People need to take responsibility for their behaviour and, most importantly, think through the ramifications on innocent people of their actions and words.

What is your message to disgruntled ratepayers who are concerned about the council’s financial management?

First and foremost, council’s finances are not being mismanaged. As I have already stated there are a raft of checks and balances that occur at both the macro and micro levels.

However, it is the fine detail that is the issue.

I have requested detailed answers ... examination of how and when the expenditure should be curbed and an examination of the delegated authorities and to what level this should drill down.

Ratepayers should expect that many in the organisation are expending as they are directed, so the pressure should be on the decision makers, not the person implementing the directive.

In my personal view, there have been expenditures that, although within ‘guidelines’, are not acceptable in the ‘real’ world.

This is a huge organisation, but it is also a public entity, using public money, and so has a greater level of responsibility.

The council should have received a huge wake-up call from this episode and be taking major steps to reform.

Why should people vote for you in the November local government elections?

It is a democracy and people have a right to vote as they choose.