City of Sydney Council: Investigation launched over outrageous expenses
EXCLUSIVE: City of Sydney’s councillor expenses will put be under the microscope, with an investigation launched by Local Government Minister Gabrielle Upton.
NSW
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NEWLY minted Local Government Minister Gabrielle Upton has ordered her department to launch a special inquiry into The City of Sydney’s outrageous councillor expenses.
In one of her first moves as Local Government Minister, Ms Upton last night ordered her department to start an urgent review into Lord Mayor Clover Moore and the City of Sydney expenses.
The investigation comes after The Daily Telegraph on Monday exposed the City of Sydney’s plan to boost the councillors’ expenses policy with a $5000 budget each for phones, $50,000 to spend on training and doubled to $2000 the allowance for swanky dinners.
The Daily Telegraph yesterday also revealed that the City of Sydney councillors and Lord Mayor were claiming up to 30 times more on expenses than Western Sydney counterparts, with the average councillor spending a whopping $64,200 a year — or $642,000 in total.
“The key question (of the investigation) will be why that council sets its allowances at such a high level,” Ms Upton said last night.
“As minister I want all ratepayers to get value for money.
“The Office of Local Government has the power to investigate any potential misuse of council funds.
“Ratepayer funds should never be wasted on unnecessary expenses. Nor should it be an opportunity for any councillor to take advantage of overly generous allowances.”
Among the cushy perks councillors are given is $1500 to spend on postage, including a budget for 600 Christmas cards.
Last year expenses totalled more than $23,037 on phones, $28,934 on overseas visits and $2911 given to councillor’s spouses for attending functions.
Among the cushy perks councillors are given is $1500 to spend on postage, including a budget for 600 Christmas cards.
Other expenses in the new policy include $6000 for carers and $3000 for refreshments each.
A City of Sydney spokeswoman last night tried brushing off the pending investigation, claiming: “Apart from the increases to the councillors’ training budget — which was a result of the NSW government’s changes to the Local Government Act — there has been no significant increase to other expenses in the policy.
“Each year, the City of Sydney adopts its Councillor Expenses and Facilities policy and lodges it with the Office of Local Government (OLG). The City has never received any objection from OLG in relation to the policy,” the spokeswoman said.
“The City is confident that any review will show that the City has followed all guidelines set out by the Office of Local Government.”
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