Hours before a council meeting, ICAC raids City of Parramatta staff offices

The Independent Commission Against Corruption raided the City of Parramatta’s staff offices and seized the mobile phones of several senior staff in the hours before a council meeting on Monday afternoon.

Numerous sources with knowledge of the situation who were not allowed to speak publicly confirmed ICAC officers arrived at the third level of the council’s Wentworth Street headquarters ahead of the regular July council meeting.

The Wentworth Street offices were raided by the integrity agency on Monday afternoon.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong

They spent some time in the council’s main boardroom.

The purpose of the visit and device seizures is unclear, and a spokesperson for the ICAC said they could not comment on operational matters.

In the hours after the raid, it was business as usual. Councillors and staff met at the council chambers at Parramatta Square, debating various motions about traffic and parking issues and a new master plan for Epping’s town centre. There was not even a hint that the raid had occurred just hours before. Councillors were not informed about it.

The Herald made numerous attempts to seek comment from the council. This masthead first sought comment from the council’s media team at 10.30am on Tuesday before calling a senior manager at 10.45am. They did not answer calls.

Neither the manager nor the media team responded to subsequent inquiries in the following days. The manager did not respond to questions as they left the council offices on Tuesday evening.

The Herald again made efforts to get a comment from the council on Thursday morning. Text messages to the media team were read. When the Herald called the general council phone line and asked to be put through to the media team, the phone line was disconnected. The council later declined to comment.

The City of Parramatta is one of the largest and most influential councils in the state and the integrity agency’s visit to the offices comes at a tense time. The Herald last week revealed the council had spent almost $5.24 million of ratepayers’ money removing 81 staff in four years, and 30 of them have signed secret agreements for payouts. There is no suggestion that the investigation and that report are linked.

The NSW Office of Local Government’s public inquiry into Liverpool City Council began this week after a report detailed serious allegations of dysfunction and maladministration.

The Sydney Morning Herald has opened a bureau in the heart of Parramatta. Email [e-mail] with news tips.