By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
GEELONG’S council will conduct a “root and branch review” of its entire budget process, according to finance portfolio holder Stretch Kontelj.
Cr Kontelj said concerns about a Community Priority Fund, an internal system of allocating funds across council wards, had prompted the review.
He suggested the budget’s submission period could be brought forward instead of being held after the draft budget was released.
“That would give an opportunity for public input before the draft budget,” Cr Kontelj said.
“Officers will bring a budget review proposal to the next councillor briefing as well as recommendations on this program.
“The Community Priority Fund can’t continue in its current guise and we need to review it.
“All councillors agree we should create opportunities for greater community input with a process of public submissions
“There need to be formalised processes drawn up so everyone agrees on the types of project that can be considered and funded.”
Acting Mayor Bruce Harwood said the Community Priority Fund began prior to 2004 when councillors were “bombarded” with funding requests from community organisations for neglected facilities.
“We said from the start it must have a high community engagement element to it and represent value for money.
“Can the system be improved? Of course, and we’ve being doing that for number of years, perhaps by way of a formal application process.
“But at the same time we don’t want to discourage any community groups from accessing it. Some don’t have the skills to put together a full business case.”
Cr Harwood said the fund allocated around $500,000 to ward-based projects and $100,000 to councillor portfolio-based projects.
Claims the Local Government Inspectorate was conducting an investigation into the arrangement were incorrect, he said.
The inspectorate was in fact conducting a review that included more than 30 councils across Victoria.
“The review is aimed at making sure it’s all above board and to see if it can be strengthened,” Cr Harwood said.
“It’s healthy to have reviews of council operations and we look forward to what it can bring back to council to strengthen the process.
“Many hundreds of community organisations have benefited. It is not a secret fund, it has been embraced by the community for more than eight years.”
A Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate spokesperson confirmed an audit and analysis of ward or discretionary funds of Victoria’s councils was underway.
“All councils have been requested to provide input. The results … will be released in the coming months.”
