Port Phillip Council ratepayers hits with $63k bill for expense audit
A Bayside council has spent more than $63,000 of ratepayers money on a probe into alleged dodgy expense claims and councillor conduct issues. And a scathing report recommended a raft of changes to combat systemic abuse.
Inner South
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Ratepayers in Port Phillip have been stung $63,739 in legal and admin fees as part of an investigation into alleged councillor misspending.
And a scathing report has revealed the reimbursement system needs an urgent overhaul to avoid “dodgy” claims in the future.
The audit comes after the Leader revealed Cr Tim Baxter had been ordered to repay nearly $3000 he had claimed for personal travel expenses.
Several other councillors also repaid money after they “accidentally” used their council-issued Myki cards for personal travel, with amounts ranging from $4 to $134.
The Leader also revealed Cr Ogy Simic had to pay back some of his childcare expenses after he claimed $245 for seven hours of private babysitting despite his son being signed into a $133 a day council-run childcare centre.
Cr Baxter denied he repaid the money in response to an FOI request made by the Ratepayers of Port Phillip group last December.
But a top council source told the Leader Cr Baxter had been asked to repay the $2803 “several times” before he eventually stumped up the cash.
“He had been warned, he knew what he was doing and he thought he got away with it,” the source said.
Greens councillors Katherine Copsey, Baxter and Simic also faced a probe into allegations they failed to declare conflicts of interest in matters involving a major party donor, with ratepayers hit with a $45,392 lawyer’s bill.
The investigation centred around a council vote on the installation of paid parking restrictions in parts of Fishermans Bend, including outside the donor’s business.
The outcome of the probe was never made public but the Leader understands the $4000 2016 election campaign donation was divided among each of the nine Greens candidates, bringing each councillor’s total under the minimum $500 threshold required for a conflict of interest declaration.
A source told the Leader ratepayers had been “dudded”.
“They’ve been stung more than $45,000 for a lawyer to essentially sweep this matter under the carpet.
“It’s not the people making the complaints who are responsible for the cost of these audits, it’s the ones doing the things being complained about.”
Cr Copsey has also been ordered to repay $51 for cycling gloves she claimed under “annual bike maintenance”.
The costly and scathing audit has recommended a raft of changes to tighten controls over councillor expense claims in the future, with officers copping a serve for signing off on expenses which didn’t comply with the reimbursement policy.
It revealed the system was open to abuse and relied too heavily on “the integrity of councillors to do the right thing” without appropriate safeguards in place to ensure compliance with expenses reimbursement policy.
New processes will be implemented to ensure councillors provide proof of attendance at meetings and events and receipts for childcare and mileage claims before they can be repaid.
Cr Dick Gross said he had “resisted pressures” to speak out against the claims, saying he was embarrassed these “indiscretions” had cost a small fortune.
“The Greens’ expense claims have cost council tens of thousands of dollars in costs,” he said.
“We have had to spend a fortune in auditors, new procedures and senior officer time fixing this up.
“Whistleblowers are always urged to be discrete or kind and bury the bodies but I have resisted these pressures — the Greens’ expense claims needed to be addressed and this has happened.”
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