General News
17 February, 2023
Council earns praise from inspectors - We’ve lifted our act
Yarriambiack Shire Council has earned a big tick of approval for lifting its performance over the past four years. A governance review in 2011 highlighted numerous failings within the council - including a poor culture and low morale among staff -...
Yarriambiack Shire Council has earned a big tick of approval for lifting its performance over the past four years.
A governance review in 2011 highlighted numerous failings within the council - including a poor culture and low morale among staff - and a follow-up inspection in 2019 showed little improvement.
But the council has now been praised for its “positive change” since acting on recommendations made in 2019.
The Local Government Inspectorate visited Yarriambiack last year to review documentation and interview staff, and said it was immediately clear that there had been positive change at the council leading to improved governance and that staff were far more invested in the organisation.
Chief Municipal Inspector Michael Stefanovic said the Inspectorate had helped identify the shortfalls, and thanked council for working with them to implement the necessary improvements.
“Congratulations is to be given to previous chief executive officer Jessie Holmes, and current CEO Tammy Smith for delivering on a commitment to address the significant number of recommendations included in the 2019 report,” he said.
“The council executive is to be commended for directing resources into important governance areas that have delivered positive outcomes.”
The 2019 report focused on allegations that community assets and resources were being not properly managed or were used to the benefit of individuals, not the community.
In its report, the Inspectorate identified significant issues, including a lack of accountability and a lack of responsible uses of resources and general poor governance, with a number of issues in relation to the management of council assets and resources at the Hopetoun depot.
Poor governance practices were identified as a result of a lack of leadership at the depot, limited staff education, and minimal oversight by council administration.
Since then, council has introduced an automated compliance management tool to improve efficiency and accountability, and new human resource and finance systems have also allowed staff to better manage their responsibilities.
All staff are also now required to undertake regular, role-specific training, as well as be familiar with the staff code of conduct.
“In discussions with staff, we were met with a distinctly different attitude and culture from that witnessed previously,” Mr Stefanovic said.
“There was an enthusiasm from staff as they variously described the improvement in leadership values and the gains made through the implementation of various governance systems and processes.
“This was backed up by staff surveys, where there was an 80 per cent satisfaction level - a marked improvement from previous surveys.”
Mr Stefanovic said the Inspectorate was now confident the issues which led to the initial investigation had been successfully mitigated with the improved policies, training, record keeping and asset management practices.
“As part of the culture change, we also found that poor behaviour was (now being) called out without the fear of repercussion,” he said.
“The culture within the council now provides a clear pathway to deal with these issues, which wasn’t evident previously.
“I would like to acknowledge and recognise staff for their willingness to accept and adapt to the changes that have been implemented, and for the councillor group in ensuring that management and staff were able to undertake the actions to enable the positive changes to the organisation.”