By Laura Michell
Whittlesea council has been described as a “broken council” in which “poisons run deep” by municipal monitor Yehudi Blacher.
In a scathing report on the council, Mr Blacher said the governance of the council had collapsed, “along with its reputation”.
He criticised the behaviour of some councillors, noting that the council was broken by years of internal division, factionalism, personality conflicts and bitter legacies of perceived betrayals.
He revealed some councillors refuse to talk to each other.
Mr Blacher also revealed there are over 20 investigations into the council, mainly by the Local Government Inspectorate.
Mr Blacher said he referred the council to the Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) and the Chief Municipal Inspector prior to advising the state government to sack the councillors.
Mr Blacher’s report also revealed that $500,000 has been spent by the council over the past two years on legal matters relating to a councillor’s working relationship with former council chief executive Simon Overland and other councillors, as well as legal action taken by Mr Overland against the council regarding his dismissal while on WorkCover.
“The fact that some councillors are prepared to spend these funds on personal and governance disputes rather on much-needed services to the community is unacceptable,” the report said.
“Council’s governance failings are acknowledged by most councillors although some prefer to blame other councillors or lay primary responsibility at the feet of council staff.”
Mr Blacher said the council’s Chief Executive Officer Employment Matters Advisory Committee had assessed Mr Overland’s performance in 2018-19 as “exceeding expectations”.
“This assessment was rejected in November [2019] by the faction now holding the majority,” he said.
Mr Blacher raised concerns about the way in which the council appointed former acting chief executive Kelvin Spiller following Mr Overland’s decision to take indefinite leave from the council in November last year, noting that he was not interviewed by the whole council.
The report found that the council’s governance issues dated back a number of years, with Mr Blacher noting that Mr Overland tried to reform the organisation.
However, within months of his appointment, his relationship with some councillors began to deteriorate, Mr Blacher said.
