Rural council faces pressure as inspectorate reviews budget

A Local Government Inspectorate is reviewing Horsham’s 2024-25 budget, during calls for the council to “clean up the mess”.

Pressure is mounting on Horsham Rural City Council to “clean up” its act, amid a state inspectorate review and calls for administrators after it defied its budget obligations.

The Local Government Inspectorate is currently reviewing the Horsham Rural City Council 2024-25 budget, which left its farmers with a 16.45 per cent rate rise.

The council only allowed its community five days to view the draft budget before it was presented and approved at a council meeting on July 22, nearly three weeks after its deadline.

Councils are required to set their budgets by June 30, but Horsham requested an extension. It is understood that extension request was not formally granted.

Horsham Rural City chief executive Sunil Bhalla said on Thursday, in a statement to “clarify” the council’s budget actions, that the council had breached the Local Government Act and it had followed legal advice.

“It was a difficult decision to delay the adoption of the budget, but our highest priority was to deliver the right budget for our community to deliver the services and facilities needed,” he said.

Councillors Claudia Haenel, Ian Ross and David Bowe recently released a joint statement, which said they were “extremely disappointed” the budget was not presented for adoption before deadline, with an appropriate consultation period.

They said the council’s failure to request an extension sooner had placed internal staff under “immense pressure” and caused reputational damage.

HRCC mayor Robyn Gulline said in a recent newsletter to the community, it had been a “challenging week” with the investigation underway, but she looked forward to the outcome.

“I want to reassure you that we have a valid operating budget that is fiscally responsible and provides the facilities and services that our community needs,” the newsletter said.

MP Emma Kealy said there needed to be administrators appointed to HRCC to “clean up the mess and give a hard reset” to the council and its community.

“And ensure we start with new councillors when the confidence from the community is returned,” she said.

“The reputational damage to the council through the dysfunctional nature of councillors is having a significant impact on staff morale.”

Originally published as Rural council faces pressure as inspectorate reviews budget