(Click photo to enlarge)
ABC NEWS
Shire of York in WA's Wheatbelt distances
itself from self-commissioned FitzGerald Report
Posted Fri 3 Jul 2015, 1.23 pm
A suspended Western Australian Wheatbelt shire has moved to distance
itself from a report it spent tens-of-thousands of dollars to commission.
In April last year, the Shire of York commissioned the FitzGerald
Report, after a series of misconduct allegations about the shire's operations
and former CEO Ray Hooper.
The shire, which is under suspension to undergo training in leadership
and governance, decided not to release the contents of the report due to
potential legal risks but it was later leaked online.
The shire has now officially stated it does not endorse the document.
The shire's commissioner, James Best, said the report, which cost almost
$80,000 to complete, was not a waste of ratepayers' money.
"I think the report has identified some of the perceptions, some of
the misconceived approach about how the shire was being operated," he
said.
"Personally, I wouldn't have gone through the FitzGerald Report
approach," he said.
"I would have gone through a community capacity-building approach,
which is a much more productive and positive approach to building a
relationship between the shire and the community."
The shire said the allegations against it and its staff had been
independently assessed, with no wrongdoing found, aside for the need of more
training.
Mr Hooper resigned last year amid claims he misused his credit card -
those claims were later quashed through an independent audit.
The leaked FitzGerald Report contains a number of misconduct allegations
about Mr Hooper, which the shire said were later deemed baseless.
Mr Hooper said the whole process was an unnecessary and costly ordeal.
"Those funds could have been used for a lot of great community
benefit but it's just been allowed to go on and on and on," he said.
"It should've come out that way months and months ago.
"It's just been dragged on. Of course its been dragged on, of
course it's been emblazoned over social networks and used as a means of just
spreading rumour and innuendo."
Topics: local-government, york-6302,
geraldton-6530
COMMISSIONER BEST, IS THERE NO END TO YOUR MENDACITY?
It isn't the Shire that has distanced itself from the Fitz Gerald Report. It's you, still playing at being the Shire Council. Enjoy it while you can, because next week, if there's justice in the world, you'll be a feather duster again and we in York will have our elected Shire President Matthew Reid and Crs. Smythe and Wallace back in charge.
We have seen no evidence to support your claim that allegations against shire and staff have been 'independently assessed'. You told us that the CCC had appointed you to investigate various allegations. You refused to say what those allegations were. You are not an independent assessor.
The probity review was carried out by your sponsor, the Department of Local Government and Communities. In all the circumstances, which are too complex to detail here, that august body can't be regarded as 'independent', any more than you can. However, it appears to me from the audit summary that our elected councillors were cleared of wrongdoing but some senior staff came under criticism for lack of knowledge and inability to get the job done (hence, presumably, the heavy reliance on expensive FOI consultants, lawyers and the like).
Your 'capacity-building approach' hasn't done much for York. We were in debt when you arrived. You've sprayed our money around to pay for consultants and lawyers. You've hired an expensive PR outfit to do a lot of your work for you. Your latest stunt - with any luck your last - has been to plunge the Shire further into debt by borrowing $625K to buy property we neither need nor want from people who've been nice to you while you've been here.
As for Ray Hooper, some of us have access to copies of corporate credit card records that seem to tell a less favourable story. If they were cleared by auditors, someone must have been asleep at the wheel. Was it a forensic audit? And if he was such a good chap, Commissioner Best, why did you describe him more than once to more than one person as 'evil'? So, in your capacity as 'the shire', why do you say that the allegations against Mr Hooper - most of them not about money - are 'baseless'? Is that really your view?
I can't see you as a student of classical Greek tragedy, Commissioner, but I'm sure you've heard the word 'hubris'. Look out, young man, the gods are watching.
*******
BY THE WAY...
I had better make it clear that I do not condone graffiti. It is vandalism, pure and simple, and a burden on the community which has to pay to have it removed.
Still, I wonder what the person who defaced the shire office building has had to endure that would drive him (or her) to do that.
I've been told the Commissioner has ordered shire workers to leave the graffiti in place for a week, presumably so visitors can see what a violent, unpredictable mob York people are. If so, he should think again. It isn't fair to punish an entire community for the actions of one individual. The Romans used to do it, so did the Nazis, but it's gone out of fashion lately in the civilised world.
Get rid of the graffiti NOW.
UPDATE: Sorry folks, I was wrong. I misunderstood what I was told. I drove past the shire office at around 10. 15 am and saw that attempts had been made to remove the graffiti.
I got out of the car and enjoyed a pleasant conversation with David, the security guard on duty. David is a local chap. He told me his brief was to watch over the town hall and shire office. It seems there are fears of a further graffiti blitz. I don't think such a thing is very likely, but if it is, I can't imagine that even the most furious and frustrated inhabitant would attack the Town Hall. The shire office might be a different story.
On behalf of the York Consortium, I apologise to Commissioner Best for suggesting that he had ordered the graffiti to be left in place. Obviously, he did nothing of the sort. Sorry, James.
FURTHER UPDATE: I should have mentioned that David the security man was taking down the rego numbers of cars whose owners were stopping by to photograph the defaced wall. When one of our front-line correspondents asked why, he said his boss had told him to do it. I wonder who gave the order to his boss, and why.
Here's a photo of David, taken for the blog with his permission.
A thoroughly nice bloke, with a great sense of humour.
James Plumridge
4 July 2015
James Plumridge
4 July 2015
Notice of Special Council Meeting
Posted on: Friday, 3 July 2015 at 3:38:36 PM
Notice of Special Council Meeting - 6 July 2015
A Special Council Meeting will be held on Monday 6 July 2015 commencing
at 5:00 pm at the York Recreation & Convention Centre - Barker Street,
York.
PURPOSE OF THE MEETING:
- Adopting a Policy to deal with unreasonable conduct.
GRAEME SIMPSON
Acting Chief
Executive Officer
(Apparently Mr Best will be protected by officers of Tony Simpson's Praetorian Guard, aka DLGC bureaucrats. Not quite as good as the armed local copper he got to escort him to his car after Thursday night's meeting. I wonder if Brad Jolly will be there?
I hope we can have a profound philosophical investigation into the meaning of 'unreasonable conduct'. If we are to start with examples, we could do no better than to consider Mr Best's conduct at the meeting on 2 July. That was thoroughly unreasonable, by any civilised standard, and thoroughly silly to boot. I almost felt sorry for him, but managed to check myself in time.)
What a wicked sense of humour!
ReplyDeleteLast nights Special meeting was shamefully run by James Best. He publicly insulted our Shire President by refusing to acknowledge Matthew's request to ask a question.
ReplyDeleteHow on earth can James Best or Minister Simpson consider he is Commissioner material. James Best restricted question time and few if any people were permitted to speak.
The only funny bit of the evening was when James Best referred to Cr. Pat Hooper as Cr. Ray Hooper - slip of the tongue but appropriate none the less.
Tony Boyle was noticeably absent - surprise surprise. Guess who was behind the Memo of Understanding deal to get the Shires name on the Title Deeds of the York Race Club land. None other than Tony Boyle himself. Still doing Ray Hoopers dirty work Tony?
Seems some of the land will be able to be sold and the Race Club gets the money - now that is a bloody ripper of and idea Mr. Best.
You have put a huge debt on Ratepayers shoulders by purchasing the old convent school then agree to flog off the race club land without Ratepayers gaining anything from that, then leave us with the mess.
Thanks Mr. Best, we will remember you long after you leave. Unfortunately it will be every time our Rates come in for the next twenty years!
In my view, Best had no right to stop Matthew from speaking. He told Matthew he couldn't speak while under suspension. But being under suspension doesn't mean Matthew loses his right as a private citizen to ask questions during PQT.
DeleteBest showed himself in his true colours on Thursday evening. A petty tyrant with a born to rule attitude convinced of his superiority over the rest of us. God knows what he's going to be like at the next meeting on Monday.
It is now up to the people of York to unite and be at the meeting on Monday 5pm to support our Shire President, Crs. Smythe and Wallace.
DeleteJames Best used the same tactic Boyle used with Simon Saint. Gestapo tactics to hide the truth coming out!
DeleteIn one mouthful Best tells us he is 'doing what is best for the community' in the next he tells us 'York is almost bankrupt', then the idiot borrows $625,000 so he can buy a building Ray Hooper sold because it was too expensive to maintain and now we find out that same building should be, according to an Engineer, condemned. Several Builders in York agreed with him. Is Best mad?
Best is no better than Ray Hooper, Boyle and Pat Hooper. They are all disgusting people.
Cheeky!!
ReplyDeleteI hope other Local Government areas are watching closely what is happening here in York.
ReplyDeleteThe way our Shire President and Crs. Smythe and Wallace have been treated and the way James Best has conducted himself is a clear warning to all West Australians - what has happened here in York can also happen to you.
I lay the blame squarely with Tony Boyle,Pat Hooper and Duperouzel for the predicament our Town is in. If those three had not let their bloody egos rule their brains things may have been different.
All of W.A. needs to be aware the people who nominate for council who believe their own importance is more important than the Community they are supposed to represent are, I believe, potentially dangerous to democracy as we know it. They can destroy your right to have your elected members represent you. All one of them needs to do is write a Minority Report and hand it over to the DLG, it is as easy as that.
THANKS PAT HOOPER!
I think James Best has a problem with Matthew Reid because Matthew still has the support of the 966 people who voted him in.
ReplyDeleteJames Best is jealous and he is trying (and failing) to humiliate Matthew. Matthew has acted with dignity throughout this awful ordeal.
Best realises he did not handle the Special Council meeting at all well, and has called in the DLG heavies to help him with next Mondays Special meeting 5pm at the YRCC to adopt a Policy on dealing with unreasonable conduct. Wonder if Mr. Best will declare a proximity interest.
I suggest Mr. Best take a long hard look at his own conduct before he starts judging the people of York.
The people of York have put up with disgraceful behaviour from councillors for ten years and when we finally get an honest Shire President the DLG can't handle it. The DLG need to also look at what they stood by and condoned for those ten years.
Mr Best, 'mendacity' is indeed the right word. We have had whopper after whopper told to us, black turned white and vice versa, actual timelines reversed to suit your argument, you were going to compile data from each Advisory Group and present it as feedback, you were going to have regular meetings and you dropped them, you were going to be on time and you weren't, you tell us we could go bankrupt and then buy a property with the money we may not have, you try and persuade a meeting that it is all our fault that you spent large sums of money when it was your choice to go that route instead of giving people the information they were justified in asking for over the counter and should have been given directly, you try and persuade them that all the legal fees were necessary when the Shire or individual players in it could simply have acknowledged their errors and apologised to the individuals they hurt, you have claimed to do an independent assessment on behalf of the CCC when you were under instruction from the Minister and Department to come up with the solution that suited them and their acolytes (not least of whom appears to have been Cr. Hooper who has not removed any doubt by letting us see his Minority Report), you have called a man evil and then been happy to have him exonerated. You can never be trusted again here in York, and hopefully the Minister will not risk another Shire's wellbeing by sending you there.
ReplyDeleteNice to see Ray 'Man of the Trees' Hooper back in the news again!
ReplyDeleteYeah I heard he was volunteering his time potting up tree seedlings at a Nursery.
DeletePoor little seedlings, they probably won't survive the trauma of being handled by him.
DeleteA leak from the Shire Administration: Some employees were asked to sign forms - prior to the forms being completed.
ReplyDeleteNot a very honest or legal process for an employer to use. Looks like bullying of employees. Wonder if anyone contacted the union.
Does anyone know what the forms were about? Did any employee refuse to sign?
DeleteI heard it was the Shire yard workers who were given the forms to sign.
DeleteSome apparently signed and some didn't.
I heard to that it was the boy's from the yard but obviously it was some sort of gag order.
DeleteSleuth gave some sound advice on the shireofyork6302.blogspot 4th July.
DeleteALL Shire of York employees should heed this advice.
• HOW TO AVOID BECOMING A VICTIM OF UNCONSCIONABLE CONDUCT: e.g. do not sign any agreements without reading them carefully; ask for plain language explanations and obtain independent professional legal or financial advice if unsure; if you think you are being treated differently, ask why; do not allow yourself to be talked into a deal that is wrong for you by high pressure ... tactics; be prepared to walk away from a deal that does not ‘feel’ right. It could be an unreasonable or oppressive deal.
Those who signed blank forms should now go and request a copy from the Shire. The Shire CANNOT refuse to give it to you.
Lets hope at least one of them will be brave enough to publish it on the Blog.
FLDP not only that but if anyone has signed the form you can plead that you signed the form under duress. but hey guys never sign anything until you have had someone look at it for you. that includes work place agreements etc
DeleteGee Anonymous 15.59 and Sir P that would be unreasonable conduct you have to laugh because if you didn't you would be committed.
ReplyDeleteShit, I took a picture of the wall. thank god I was on foot (no rego plate) I wouldn't want to mess with Dave.
ReplyDeleteHe was taking photo of people taking photos as well.
DeleteWhy on earth would the Shire employ a security guard to take photo's of people taking photos and list rego plates etc.
DeleteIf they bought a $5 roller and some paint no one would be the wiser.
No this is James Best playing the victim, look at me, poor little me, look what I've had to put up with.
Look what we've had to put up with over the last six months.
Your right, James (the worst) is milking this for all its worth. He is definitely going for the victim vote.
DeleteThe Shire of York are way out of step with every other Local Government area in Australia. YOU PAINT OVER THE GRAFFITI IMMEDIATELY, then you get the professional painters in to repaint the sections.
When I saw it was still a mess this morning (Sunday), I was tempted to go down and buy paint and a roller and do the bloody job myself.
The security guard is probably there to stop anyone cleaning it up.
I would really like to know what, and why the SOY had to hire a professional paper shredding company in the last few weeks. The driver parked outside the Shire building for 10 minutes and then took of down the Perth road, seems to me that anything that was to be shredded was off sight and hopefully out of mind.Dirty Pool Beastie, Dirty Pool.
ReplyDeleteMore money. In my experience static security is around $50 per hour. Assuming 4.30pm to 8.30am (16hrs) two shifts thats $800 per day.
ReplyDeleteDrop in the ocean really when we're paying Best and Simpson over $10k per week between them.
THANKS PAT
The guard is there again today - we should put up a sign saying TOURIST ATTRACTION.
DeleteWhy are they guarding the building during the day when people can see what is happening? This is nothing short of intimidation by the Administration.
Gee I wonder if we will be frisked and have a copy of our ID taken before we can go into the Shire office on Monday to change Library books.
I won't be paying my Vehicle Registration at the Shire of York from here on. I suggest others consider paying them elsewhere as well. These people are out of control.
Readers, please attend the Special Council meeting 5pm at the Recreation Centre tomorrow (Monday) 6th July, 2015 to support our Shire President Matthew Reid, Crs. Smythe and Wallace as well as those who intend asking questions.
ReplyDeleteI second that. Our councillors will be in for a difficult time. Some in the shire administration, including A/CEO Simpson, may choose to be obstructive. He seems to have been hatched from the same clutch as Ray Hooper. Like Ray, he's shown a talent for intimidation, but his talent is very minor in comparison. He tried - and failed - to intimidate the Saints by sending a ranger to photograph their windows. Now he and Best have hired a security guard, at our expense, to note down rego numbers and take photos of people rubbernecking at the Shire wall. How stupid is that!
DeleteThe sooner Simpson goes, the better. We shouldn't have to wait till October. Perhaps we should buy him a camera as a farewell present.
The heading Shire of York in WA's Wheatbelt distances itself from self-commissioned FitzGerald Report.
ReplyDeleteJust in case anyone else read the above heading as I did:
The York Council commissioned the Fitz Gerald Report - NOT Mr. Fitz Gerald.