A municipal monitor has been appointed to three Victorian councils.
Strathbogie Shire Council, Casey City Council and Whittlesea City Council have all been appointed a municipal monitor to oversee the first year of elected representation following the local government elections.
From November 6, 2024 until November 6, 2025, the monitors will help support the new councillors as they enter office and prevent the previous issues that led to each council’s dismissal to reoccur.
Victorian Minister for Local Government Melissa Horne announced that Marg Allan has been appointed to Strathbogie Shire Council, Peter Stephenson and Cameron Boardman have been appointed to Casey City Council and Jude Munro and Peita Duncan have been appointed to Whittlesea City Council.
“Victorians rightly expect newly elected councillors to maintain the high standard of governance put in place by the administrators at these councils — these experienced monitors will guide incoming councillors in governance practices to help them best serve their community,” Ms Horne said.
Ms Allan, who has been appointed to oversee Strathbogie, is a member of the Victorian Local Government Grants Commission, and was the municipal monitor for Moira Shire Council in 2022.
Strathbogie Shire Council councillors were dismissed in late 2023 for the remainder of the term, while Casey and Whittlesea councillors were dismissed in 2020 until the 2024 elections.
The Victorian Government reformed the Local Government Act 2020 to improve culture, governance and integrity standards in Victoria’s councils.
These reforms introduced stronger sanctions for misconduct by councillors and improved processes to resolve conduct matters earlier.
Councils now have a uniform councillor code of conduct, and mandatory training has been introduced for councillors and mayors, including annual professional development.
More information on the reforms and terms of reference for the monitors is available at https://tinyurl.com/3k85a456