Central Coast Council budget blowout: State Government says it won’t bend the rules
Central Coast Council’s desperate plan to ask the government to use restricted funds to help survive its crippling financial crisis has been shut down. It comes as council appoints a new CFO.
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The State Government has shut down the Central Coast Council’s pleas saying it will not bend the rules to help it out of its financial mess.
Central Coast Parliamentary Secretary Adam Crouch has released a firm statement saying council needs to do its job, balance the books and find a way out of its $89 million debt.
“I have spoken extensively with the minister for local government and the government will not be strong-armed into taking responsibility for Central Coast Council’s failings – there will be no state funding or legislative exemptions,” Mr Crouch said.
“The NSW Government will not bend the rules for a council that has fundamentally failed to do the job the community expects them to do.”
Meanwhile Mayor Lisa Matthews has hit back saying council has been let down by the State Government which promised to appoint a independent financial expert to look into council’s dire position.
It has been more than 10 days since council announced it was facing “liquidity issues”.
At this week’s meeting, councillors voted to ask Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock to use restricted funds to help with day-to-day cash flow, otherwise they would seek a $100 million loan from an emergency fund agency such as TCorp.
The council has also set up a finance committee and is working on a 100-day recovery plan to get them out of trouble.
Cr Matthews said it appeared that the Office of Local Government and the State Government were abandoning the coast by not appointing an independent financial expert as promised.
“Council accepted the Minister’s plan and looked forward to working with them on our action plan. However, to date, no support nor guidance has been forthcoming,” she said.
“I am committed to finding ways to get the assistance our Central Coast community deserve.”
The council is also urgently seeking clarification from the State Government with respect to council’s request to borrow from restricted funds.
Mr Crouch said the councillors were responsible for the “operational failings”.
“It’s been over a week since Central Coast Council found out about its financial dire straits and all it has done is write a letter and set up yet another finance committee. Council’s so-called 100-Day Recovery Action Plan has not even been published for the community to see.”
Mr Crouch said Cr Matthews needed to stand up and take responsibility for the problems.
“She needs to show some leadership and work with her fellow councillors and tell the community what they are going to do about it,” he said.
The Office of Local Government has written to council’s audit, risk and improvement committee indicating that the committee was in a solid position to investigate the issues.
“The Office of Local Government has written to the committee’s independent chairperson Dr Col Gellatly to request that he play a key role in advising councillors on how to address these matters as quickly as possible,” Mr Crouch said.
“This includes advising councillors on the council’s current financial position, its statutory responsibility for managing its finances, the effectiveness of any actions taken by the council, and any recommendations for the future.”
Council’s chief executive officer Gary Murphy is currently on leave. When the budget blowout was announced, council stated that issues had recently come to light following reviews commissioned by Mr Murphy.
Acting chief executive officer Jamie Loader said that senior staff had already made significant progress in identifying areas where key savings can be made without impacting council’s essential services. He said a new chief financial officer had been appointed.
Natalia Cowley, who has experience in Local Government, financial services and Big Four audit professional services, starts on November 2.