Viv May suggests Wingecarribee council isn’t ‘adhering to the law’ at animal shelter

Plans for a proposed $5.2 million animal shelter, which is run by volunteers, has been thrown into disarray after the interim administrator said he believed the arrangement with council might be illegal.

A proposed new $5.2 million Wingecarribee Animal Shelter has been thrown into doubt after Wingecarribee interim administrator Viv May questioned the legality of the way the council-owned centre has been operating.

The most recent extraordinary general meeting ended with Mr May saying he thought the council was acting illegally and a review was needed into the shelter, which is assisted by volunteers from community group Friends of the Wingecarribee Animal Shelter.

Mr May said he ordered the review after a visit to the current shelter highlighted the untenable situation for volunteers and animals.  

The extraordinary general meeting on June 23 involved surprising revelations about the animal shelter. Picture: Wingecarribee Shire Council

The council’s co-ordinator for regulatory services, Michelle Peddle, explained the review illustrated “a number of key issues that need to be properly considered in a future report to council”, including statutory and council policy compliance and the involvement of volunteer groups.

Mr May said he had questioned the animal shelter’s unique setup for some time as the Wingecarribee Animal Shelter is one of the only shelters in the country to rely on volunteers and community groups for essential services such as food and training.

The volunteer group also provides a large amount of additional services to the shelter including fundraising, food, training and supplementary vet service funding.

“I don’t think the council is complying with statutory obligations,” Mr May said.

“If it’s not complying with its statutory obligations, it’s not adhering to the law.”

The Friends of Wingecarribee Animal Shelter charity has a unique relationship with the local animal shelter. Picture: FOWAS

Mr May also stressed the council was failing to meet its work, health and safety obligations for volunteers and employees at the site.

Friends of Wingecarribee Animal Shelter president, Deborah Barnes, said the review, which was a late addition to the meeting agenda, came as a surprise.

She agreed the current state of the animal shelter was dire and said her organisation has known the health and safety issues have existed for “a very long time”. Ms Barnes said the volunteer group has been at the forefront of the decade-long push for a new shelter for the community.

“The community, because they want to have that connection and they’ve always wanted to have that connection with the shelter, they provide food or we can buy food,” she said.

The 2015 memorandum of understanding between the council and the animal organisation had previously delineated roles in the working relationship, but the document was not renewed in February due to the turmoil at council.

Mr May said the expired agreement would allow the review to assess the unique relationship between the shelter and Friends of Wingecarribee Animal Shelter, and whether it should continue.

Friends of Wingecarribee Animal Shelter organise food donations from the community to feed the animals at the shelter. Picture: Facebook

“It’s a level playing field for the council to understand its roles and responsibilities in operating the pound, which clearly they’re not adhering to,” he said.

The call for a review comes after Mr May suggested the land purchased for the new multimillion dollar animal shelter in Moss Vale would be a good location for the local SES branch.

Ms Barnes said review increased concerns for the future of the $5.2 million animal shelter.

She also said she hoped the independent assessor will meet with the group, volunteers and other involved parties to get a holistic view of the animal shelter operations.

The review will be fast-tracked to be completed before the council dissolves for the local elections in September.