The new interim administrator for Wingecarribee Shire Council has made several changes in his first Extraordinary Meeting of Council on March 17, 2021.
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Viv May PSM said that while he held the position of interim administrator he would do his best to independently serve in an "honest, open and transparent way" to ensure all voices heard.
Mr May introduced several changes to council which included:
- As of March 22, 2021 Mr Les McMahon, a former Wollondilly Shire Council general manager, would take over as acting general manager.
- An Independent Hearing and Assessment Panel (IHAP) will be established to deal with all development applications and all planning proposals.
- The functions of the finance committee will be dealt with by the council and the acting general manager has been requested to report to the upcoming council meeting regarding the necessity of council meeting twice a month.
- A Governance, Human Resources and Statutory Obligations audit will be independently commissioned.
- An independent desktop review of the council's financial position will also be undertaken.
Mr May said he would come to the role with an open mind and aimed to address all the issues raised by the minister in her correspondence.
"The restoration of public confidence and the effective functioning of the council will be my priority. At this stage, I have no idea how it all got to this. From my past experiences as an administrator I do know however the uncertainty that the suspension of a council brings to some employees who just want to get on with their jobs," he said.
"In my view loyal and dedicated employees deserve better."
Mr May said he had begun meeting with suspended councillors.
"My door is open to any person who may wish to meet with me over the coming weeks," he said.
"The importance of confidentiality is well known to me and residents and staff (current and former) alike should not hesitate to make contact.
"It is difficult for me to guarantee that confidential emails will only be seen by me, but instructions have been issued that correspondence addressed to myself and marked confidential will only be opened by me and secured in a way that complies with statutory requirements."
Mr May said it was important for everyone to appreciate that he had not been appointed as the general manager and that the day to day operations would continue seamlessly.
"The intervention of the Minister of Local Government gives the Wingecarribee Shire community the opportunity for review and renewal," he said.
"From my early observations there has been a general lack of respect and frankly the community deserves better."
Prior to his appointment an interim administrator, Viv May was an administrator at Armidale Council, as well as Cumberland Council, Auburn Council and general manager at Mosman Council.
"I woked at Mosman Council for 43 years and was general manager for 27 years," he said.
"I retired and did a bit of consulting. I was then the acting general manager at Strathfield for three to four weeks before the NSW government asked if I would be the administrator at Auburn Council.
"I then became the administrator of the newly merged Cumberland Council. I retired yet again and then last year I received a phone call in June to go to Armidale.
"That was an experience. The administration had collapsed and I commended the process of rebuilding, appointed a general manager and the elected members are now back."
Mr May said his plans for Wingecarribee Shire were to restore respect from the community to the council.
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