Council audit to check progress

By Alison Noonan
THE operations of Casey Council will be put under the spotlight during an independent audit later this month.
The review is proposed to compare the city’s level of efficiency in terms of rates per person and rates per property with other suburban metropolitan councils.
Mayfield Ward councillor Steve Beardon called for the report at last week’s council meeting in a bid to determine whether council was working to provide the maximum benefit to residents.
“Are we operating effectively with minimum expense to deliver maximum outcomes to residents?” he said.
“Are we targeting our facilities to those most in need? Are we operating efficiently?
“This is a two-fold answer I am looking for from council. We can go further and do what we want with the report.”
Cr Beardon said he hoped to use the findings from the audit to find ways to best serve the needs of Casey’s 223,961 residents.
“Hopefully we will receive a report that basically gives the thumbs up to our performance and shows we’re operating efficiently to the best value we can for our residents.
“This will be an overview of council’s performance and if councillors aren’t happy with the outcome then we can debate it further.
“However, as a ratepayer, I am hoping no further action is needed,” he said.
Mayor Kevin Bradford applauded Cr Beardon’s request, claiming an audit would be timely before upcoming budget deliberations in June.
“We are about to look at the rates for the next 12 months.
“We are the third lowest rating council of the 31metro councils, which is a clear indication we are not overrated in councils. We are a cut above the rest in fighting for issues for our residents,” he said.
Strathard Ward councillor Lorraine Wreford said an independent audit would help council identify its strengths and weaknesses.
“We may find issues in the report we could improve on.
“I believe we should be constantly evaluating our performance and an independent report on what we could improve on would be of huge value to us,” she said.
The audit is due to come back to council on 21 March.