By Luke Voogt
A fines “debacle” costing Geelong’s council about $650,000 in 18 months has drawn an apology from State Government in question time.
Opposition MP Bev McArthur last Tuesday asked Local Government Minister Adam Somyurek what action he would take to protect council’s revenue base following the loss.
In a separate question the Member for Western Victoria demanded assurances that the cash shortfall had not led to cuts in council programs or higher rates.
IT issues have plagued Fines Victoria since its introduction in December 2017, with delays in processing and payment causing a shortfall of $650,000 for Geelong’s council.
Mr Somyurek admitted the Fines Victoria issues were a “debacle”.
“Local government revenue is affected by this bungle, and I would expect that to be fixed, because local government revenue is a big thing,” he said.
But he declined to take any action saying the issue was part of Attorney General Jill Hennessy’s portfolio.
He was not privy to council information on whether the shortfalls affected Geelong council rates or services, he said.
Councils, including Geelong’s, were “sophisticated, large organisations that have access to legal advice” and could also apply for rates rises, Mr Somyurek said.
Opposition leader Michael O’Brien pressed the attack in the lower house the next day, demanding Ms Hennessy take action.
Ms Hennessy apologised for the issues and admitted parts of Fines Victoria’s IT system were “falling short“.
State Government had recently ordered a review and was making determinations on how to fix “some of those challenges”, she said.
Fines Victoria continued to work with its service providers to fix remaining issues and improve services, a government spokesperson said this week.
The authority had taken steps including SMS, phone and letter campaigns targeting council-issued fines, sheriff operations and recruiting temporary staff to work through review backlogs, they said.
Fines Victoria had reduced its backlog by 535,000 matters since July last year, the spokesperson said.
“Warrants do not have an expiry date, and therefore debts owed to councils can’t be cancelled if they are not dealt with in a specific time frame.”
