Wingecarribee Shire Council: Administrator reveals misuse of bushfire grant, unlawful meetings

Wingecarribee Shire Council misspent bushfire relief money, ran unlawful secret meetings and was driven by egos, a damning report has found.

The Administrator of Wingecarribee Shire Council has revealed the suspended council misused a bushfire relief grant, held “unlawful” secret meetings and was driven by “ego”.

Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock suspended the council in March, amid vicious infighting, and appointed Viv May as Administrator.

In a damning report delivered on Wednesday, Mr May told a council meeting he was only just getting a full sense of the dysfunction and incompetence of the now-suspended council.

Wingecarribee Shire Council was suspended in March. Photo: WSC

“Now the shackles are off, we’re getting to the bottom of what has been happening in this place,” he said.

In an update on his activities as Administrator, Mr May confirmed he would request his term be extended until the September Local Government Election.

“Wingecarribee Shire Council has failed its community and needs a fresh start (in) September,” he said.

Mr May said the residents deserved a council which “focuses on the fundamentals of sound local government, not perceived entitlement, ego and personality”.

Wingecarribee Shire Council Administrator Viv May delivered a damning report into the suspended council.

Suspended mayor Duncan Gair says it was a “political” decision to suspend the council. Photo: WSC

He said he continued to discover governance shortcomings, including closed-door briefings and workshops under the former council becoming “unacceptable and unlawful ... defacto council meetings” totally closed to the public.

In his meetings with residents around the shire, he said there was a sense that the former council had not been serving the community’s needs.

“There are common themes of transparency, communication and the fact that council had ‘stopped listening’,” he said.

One particular issue was the council using part of a NSW Government bushfire relief grant to develop a plan for the equine industry.

“There is no evidence that this industry was impacted by the fires,” he said.

“I have also reviewed the project brief related to this project and there appears to be no focus

on bushfire recovery.”

Wingecarribee Shire Council “stopped listening” to residents in the Southern Highlands, administrator Viv May said.

Mr May said he was working hard to address the “toxic culture” which flourished under the previous council.

In another sweeping move, he abolished a “councillor contingency fund”, which the meeting heard was used to give informal hand-outs to local groups.

“You can take that out of the next budget,” he said.

“Council has a formal process for grants, doesn’t it?”

Suspended mayor Duncan Gair and some of the former councillors have previously rejected claims they mismanaged the council, and have labelled the suspension as a “political” move.