Councillors have been put on notice with a bill introduced into state Parliament last week marking the biggest change to local government laws in nearly 20 years.
The Local Government Bill 2018 will repeal the Local Government Act 1989 and is aimed at lifting standards of governance and making councillors more accountable to ratepayers.
In an Australian-first, the new act will require councils to develop four-year budgets and meet higher standards in strategic planning and financial management. Mayors will be required to report annually to their communities on council’s progress in delivering these aims.
Kororoit MP and Local Government Minister Marlene Kairouz introduced the bill, saying it would help improve councils and the community.
“We are bringing this act into the 21st century – helping make councils more accountable and focused on the needs of their communities,” she said.
“Mayors and councillors who behave badly will be gone for a year – the days of them acting with impunity are over. We want councils focused on the long-term and these changes will help them do exactly that.”
The bill will usher in landmark reforms,
such as giving the minister the power to suspend individual councillors who pose a significant threat to the governance
of a council for up to a year, clearly defining sexual harassment under the Councillor Code of Conduct and introducing the power to remove councillors for serious sexual harassment.
The bill will also introduce measures to ensure service charges levied by councils do not exceed the cost of those services.
Victorian Local Government Association chief executive Kathryn Arndt said the bill was a step in the right direction.
“It is vital that councillors serve in the interests of their community and make transparent and accountable decisions,” she said.
Melton legal and governance manager Christine Denyer welcomed many of the proposed reforms.
All Melton councillors helped draft and agreed to its code of conduct.
“Councillors are accountable to each other for adherence with the code,” Ms Denyer said.
