Governance

The Wodonga Council is constituted under the Local Government Act 1989 and the Local Government Act 2020. Councils are expected to provide good governance by adhering to a number of overarching governance principles, which are listed below. • Council decisions are to be made and actions taken in accordance with the relevant law. • Priority is to be given to achieving the best outcomes for the municipal community, including future generations. • The economic, social and environmental sustainability of the municipal district, including mitigation and planning for climate change risks, is to be promoted. • The municipal community is to be engaged in strategic planning and strategic decisionmaking. • Innovation and continuous improvement is to be pursued. • Collaboration with other councils, governments and statutory bodies is to be sought. • The ongoing financial viability of the council is to be ensured. • Regional, state and national plans and policies are to be taken into account in strategic planning and decision making. • The transparency of council decisions, actions and information is to be ensured. The council is committed to effective and sustainable forms of democratic and corporate governance as the key to ensuring that council and its administration meet the community’s priorities. The community has many opportunities to provide input into council’s decision-making processes including community consultation. The council’s formal decision-making processes are conducted through council meetings. The council delegates the majority of its decisionmaking to council staff. These delegations are exercised in accordance with adopted council policies and guidelines.

MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL

Council conducts public meetings every month, usually on the third Monday, commencing at 6pm. Members of the community are welcome to attend these meetings and observe from the gallery. The meetings are also live-streamed on the council’s YouTube channel. The video recording of the meeting is also available for subsequent viewing. Council meetings also provide the opportunity for community members to submit a written question to the council. In 2021-2022, 15 council meetings were held, comprising 11 ordinary meetings and four special meetings. The following table provides a summary of councillor attendance at council meetings for the 2021–2022 financial year.

COUNCILLORS ORDINARY MEETINGS SPECIAL MEETINGS TOTAL

Kat Bennett 8 of 8 3 of 3 11

Libby Hall 11 of 11 4 of 4 15

Danny Lowe 2 of 2 1 of 1 3

Ron Mildren 11 of 11 4 of 4 15

Kev Poulton 11 of 11 4 of 4 15

Olga Quilty 11 of 11 4 of 4 15

Graeme Simpfendorfer 10 of 11 4 of 4 14 John Watson 11 of 11 4 of 4 15

NB: A councillor is counted as having attended a council meeting where a councillor is late to a meeting, is on an approved leave of absence (e.g., in the case of parental leave) or a vacancy has been created due to resignations, death, failure to take the oath of office or going out of office under section 35(1) of the Act.

COMMITTEES

Sections 63, 64 and 65 of the Local Government Act 2020 (LGA 2020) allow councils to establish delegated committees, joint delegated committees and community asset committees. In 2021-2022 there were no committees established under these provisions.

CODE OF CONDUCT

The council adopted a revised Councillor Code of Conduct at its meeting held on Monday, February 22, 2021. The Code: • Sets out the standards of conduct expected of

Wodonga councillors; • Endeavours to foster good working relations between councillors to enable councillors to work constructively together in the best interests of the Wodonga community; and, • Establishes a process for dispute resolution.

GOVERNANCE RULES

The council’s Governance Rules commenced on September 1, 2020. The Governance Rules: 1. Establish a framework for decision making; 2. Regulate and control the conduct of meetings of the council and delegated committees and community asset committees; 3. Establish rules for the disclosure of a conflict of interest; and, 4. Require the reporting of informal meetings of councillors.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Councillors are elected by the residents and ratepayers to act in the best interests of the community. This is a position of trust that requires councillors to act in the public interest. When a council delegates its powers to a council officer or a committee, the committee or officer also needs to act in the public interest. A conflict of interest occurs when a personal or private interest might compromise the ability to act in the public interest. A conflict of interest exists even if no improper act results from it. The council has a comprehensive procedure in place to accommodate the disclosure of a conflict of interest. Declaration of a conflict of interest is a standard agenda item for all Council meetings and informal meetings of councillors. While the procedures vary depending on the particular role and circumstances, in general they involve disclosing the relevant interests in a specific way and then stepping aside from the relevant decision-making process or from the exercise of the public duty. During 2021–2022, 11 conflicts of interest were declared at council meetings and three were declared at councillor briefings. Further, councillors are required to submit a Personal Interests Return in which they are required to declare any interests. These returns are submitted twice yearly, and the Register is published on the council website.

COUNCILLOR ALLOWANCES

Mayors and councillors are entitled to receive an allowance while performing their duties as an elected official. Pursuant to section 39 of the Local Government Act 2020 (LGA 2020), allowances for the mayor, deputy mayor and councillors are provided in accordance with a Determination of the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal under the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal and Improving Parliamentary Standards Act 2019. For the period from July 1 to December 17, 2021 the councillor allowance was set at $28,869.50 per annum and the mayoral allowance was $89,324.40 per annum. From December 18, 2021 the councillor allowance was $30,024, the deputy mayoral allowance was $48,235 per annum and the mayoral allowance was 96,470 per annum. The following table contains a summary of the allowances paid to each councillor during the 2021-2022 financial year.

COUNCILLORS ALLOWANCE $

Kat Bennett Libby Hall Danny Lowe Ron Mildren 21,784.66 29,492.99 4,805.28 29,492.99

Kev Poulton

93,163.77 Olga Quilty 29,492.99 Graeme Simpfendorfer 39,234.29 John Watson 29,492.99

COUNCILLOR EXPENSES

In accordance with s.40 of LGA2020, the council is required to reimburse a councillor for expenses incurred while performing his or her duties as a councillor. The council is also required to adopt and maintain a policy in relation to the reimbursement of expenses for councillors (s.41 of LGA2020). The policy provides guidance for the payment of reimbursements of expenses and the provision of resources, facilities and other support to the mayor and councillors to enable them to discharge their duties. The council also publishes in its annual report the details of the expenses, including reimbursement of expenses for each councillor and member of a council committee paid by the council. The details of the expenses including reimbursement of expenses for each councillor and member of a council committee paid by the council for the 2021-2022 year are set out in the following table.

DETAILS OF COUNCILLOR EXPENSES

COUNCILLORS TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OTHER

Kat Bennett 0 0 2,022 Libby Hall 0 678 2,427 Danny Lowe 0 678 405 Ron Mildren 0 678 2,427 Kev Poulton 1,126 2,093 2,427 Olga Quilty 0 678 2,427

Graeme Simpfendorfer 1,278 2,453 2,427

John Watson 0 678 2,427

Note: No expenses were paid by council, including reimbursements, to members of council committees during the year.

AUDIT COMMITTEE

As part of the council’s governance obligations to its community, council has constituted an Audit and Risk Committee which was established on August 16, 2020. The role of the Committee is to support Council in discharging its oversight responsibilities related to: • Financial and performance reporting; • Risk management; • Fraud prevention systems and control; • Maintenance of a sound internal control environment; • Assurance activities including internal and external audit; and • Council’s performance with regard to compliance with its policies and legislative and regulatory requirements. The committee consists of four members appointed by the council, three of whom must be independent members. The chairperson of the committee must be an independent member, and is appointed by the council. Cr Olga Quilty was the councillor representative on the committee. The external independent members were as follows: David Pendleton (Chairperson) Robyn Gillis David Kortum The Internal Auditor and the Director Corporate Services attend all Audit and Risk Committee meetings. Other management representatives attend as required to present reports. The Audit and Risk Committee meets at least quarterly. Recommendations from the Audit and Risk Committee meeting are subsequently reported to, and considered by the council.

STATUTORY INFORMATION

The following information is provided in accordance with legislative and other requirements applying to council.

DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION

In accordance with sections 57 and 58 of LGA2020 the council adopted a Public Transparency Policy at its meeting on August 17, 2020. The policy stipulates the types of documents available to the public, to ensure openness with decision making and council processes, as well as listing the types of documents that remain confidential.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

Access to documents may be obtained through written request to the Freedom of Information Officer, as detailed in section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and in summary as follows: • It should be in writing • It should identify as clearly as possible which document is being requested • It should be accompanied by the appropriate application fee (the fee may be waived in certain circumstances). Requests for documents in the possession of the council should be addressed to the Freedom of Information Officer. Access charges may also apply once documents have been processed and a decision on access is made (e.g. photocopying and search and retrieval charges). Further information regarding FOI can be found at ovic.foi.vic.gov.au and on the Wodonga Council website.

PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURE PROCEDURES

The Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012 aims to ensure openness and accountability in government by encouraging people to disclose improper conduct within the public sector and provide protection for people who make disclosures. Procedures on how to make a disclosure are publicly available council’s website. During the 2021-2022 year no disclosures were notified to council officers appointed to receive disclosures, or to IBAC.