In this edition of the Local Government News Roundup:

• Pressure mounts on a city mayor to resign
• A NSW council floats a plan for a four day work week
• A mayor’s off mic moment becomes public
• Industrial action set to disrupt services across eight Melbourne councils
• A council ‘s $10M legal bill successfully challenged in court
• Residents set to protest a NSW council’s planned budget cuts
• Controversial changes to committee appointments on the Gold Coast
• and council meeting lunches get the chop in Auckland

Also today, we flash back to what was making news three years ago this week.

The Local Government News Roundup is brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, with support from Symphony 3, and Rath Engineering Development.

Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform, or by clicking here.

Transcript for Episode #571

Top Three Stories

Pressure is continuing to mount on Wyndham Mayor Preet Singh, with the Local Government Minister the latest to call on him to resign.

According to the Herald Sun, Minister Nick Staikos described Cr Singh’s character reference for a child sex offender as sickening, and said he thinks he should step down permanently.

Cr Singh relinquished mayoral duties temporarily last week, asking Deputy Mayor Jasmine Hill to step in as Acting Mayor. He did not give a timeline for his return to the role or otherwise.

All ten remaining Wyndham councillors have called for Cr Singh’s resignation, and hundreds of community members rallied outside the Council office in Werribee demanding the same.

And in a development just prior to the Easter break, the Wyndham Councillors announced they have written to Minister Staikos requesting that he use his powers to remove Cr Singh from the Council.

Murrumbidgee Council is considering a four day compressed work week … as it tries to stay on top of rising costs without hitting residents with a special rate rise.

Under the proposal … staff would still work their full hours … but across four longer days from Monday to Thursday … with offices, depots and libraries closed on Fridays.

General Manager John Scarce says it’s about working smarter … not cutting services … and keeping customer service hours intact through longer daily opening times.

Council says the shift could save about one point one million dollars a year … cutting travel and site set up time across its seven thousand square kilometre area.

Earlier this year, Launceston City Council in Tasmania attempted to get a four day week ratified in enterprise bargaining negotiations. But the plan was abandoned after coming under extreme pressure from ratepayers and stakeholders, and abuse towards council staff members.

An off‑mic moment is now on the record in the City of Wanneroo… after Mayor Linda Aitken was caught on a live microphone swearing during a long council meeting.

PerthNow reported that the slip came during debate over safety and access at Mindarie Marina … as the mayor called a short break while councillors were out of the room.

A clip later circulated in a local residents’ Facebook group … prompting criticism about standards in the chamber.

The City says it’s aware of the comments and is addressing the matter … but hasn’t shared details.

Victorian Report

Hume City Council has warned of potential disruptions to bin collections this week, due to industrial action by ASU members.

Merri-bek and Darebin Councils are also reportedly affected by the 24 hour stoppage, which is part of a campaign for a multi-enterprise agreement, with a 22 per cent pay rise over four years.

It’s understood around 70 workers are involved in a strike today, and there are plans to escalate action across eight metropolitan councils, with potential bans on other services in the coming weeks.

The City of Melbourne says its draft Budget sets a direction for a more liveable CBD and inner neighbourhoods.

The plan totals about eight hundred and four million dollars … with a small surplus and a capital works program worth one hundred and seventy five million.

It includes more money for safety and cleaning … and a push to green the city with new and upgraded parks and up to three thousand trees.

Rates are set to rise by two point seven five per cent … with discounts for pensioners and payment plans for others.

The City is asking residents to have their say … with feedback open until the twenty eighth of April.

Central Goldfields Shire has been making news with its draft budget, and the need to save millions from the bottom line.

The council is floating the closure of three rubbish transfer stations … at Bealiba, Dunolly and Talbot … as it hunts for those savings.

ABC News reported that the plan would leave just the Carisbrook site … near Maryborough … as the only local option.

Residents say that means longer drives and higher costs … and warn illegal dumping could rise.

Chief executive Peter Harriott said waste services are running a multi‑million‑dollar deficit … and without cuts … the council’s cash position won’t be sustainable.

Maribyrnong City Council has lodged an objection to a ministerial planning application … for an expansion of the NEXTDC data centre near Stony Creek.

Mayor Councillor Mohamed Semra says Council understands the need for data infrastructure … but argues the proposal does not do enough to protect the creek corridor.

Concerns include the scale of the buildings … overshadowing … and the impact on people who use the creek and nearby residents during construction.

Council says it supports some public realm upgrades … but wants stronger conditions … including a robust Construction Management Plan.

The countdown is on to the closure of Yallourn W power station in July 2028 … and Latrobe City Council says the region needs a coordinated plan for the jobs transition.

Councillors have endorsed a submission to the Net Zero Economy Authority … backing an Energy Industry Jobs Plan with clear obligations for employers … and practical support to move people into new work.

Mayor Councillor Sharon Gibson says the closure will affect the whole community … and the plan needs to give workers and families real security.

Council says retraining and redeployment help will be critical … and an economic support package could help grow new industries and local jobs.

Baw Baw Shire Council is having a rethink of its aquatic and leisure centre operations… deciding in a confidential Council session not to award a new management contract.

It is discussing extending existing operations by 12 months, with current provider YMCA Victoria, and reviewing future service options in the meantime.

Victorian Briefs

Alpine Shire Council has taken a step towards a 24 hour cat curfew… testing the idea in its draft domestic animal management plan, which is now on public exhibition.

The curfew is proposed to help protect native wildlife, and reduce unwanted litters of kittens.

The Latrobe City Council by-election is set for 1st August. Morwell River Ward voters will elect a replacement for Tracie Lund, who resigned last month.

Close of nominations for the by-election is 12 noon on Tuesday 23rd June.

Macedon Ranges Shire Council has ****decided to formally conclude its Sister City relationship with Tokai City in Japan, after more than 15 years.

A review found that the relationship no longer fits current strategic, economic, or community goals, with limited engagement since the COVID-19 pandemic.

NSW Report

A Sydney based lawyer and a series of associated firms have been hit with major costs orders after the NSW Supreme Court found Broken Hill City Council was charged far more than it should have been.

Justice Elisabeth Peden says the lawyer billed as much as ten million dollars … including rate rises, days claiming more than thirty hours of work, and a 25 per cent uplift fee that was never agreed.

Lawyers Weekly reported that the court ordered trust money be repaid and sent the matter to a costs expert to calculate the full overcharge. The lawyer’s cross claims were dismissed.

Kiama Council says it is heading into a make or break budget year … with a projected 4.5 million dollar deficit and a NSW Government order that requires the books to be balanced by the end of 2026-27.

An extraordinary meeting this week will consider tougher budget settings … including possible staff cuts, market testing waste collection, and changes to some services.

CEO Jane Stroud says a new independent report on the Blue Haven Terralong retirement village found maintenance costs of about 51.2 million dollars … far beyond what council can cover.

The Illawarra Mercury reports today that some residents are planning a protest against the planned budget cuts outside the council chambers on Tuesday evening, with concerns also raised by Kiama MP Katelin McInerney.

It’s “do or die” for a pocket of sports fields in Sydney’s north according to Ryde City Council … with a State Government rezoning plan now out for public comment.

Ryde Mayor Trenton Brown is urging residents to lodge objections … as the proposal would open up 6.2 hectares at TG Millner Fields in Marsfield for about 132 low-rise homes … and a smaller public park.

Cr Brown says Ryde is already taking on its share of housing growth … and wants State and Federal funding to help the council buy the land for community sport instead.

It’s been reported that Canterbury-Bankstown Council was warned years ago about an unapproved prayer hall in Bankstown … but only moved to shut it after last year’s Bondi Beach attack put the site under renewed scrutiny.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, freedom of information documents show staff flagged the site as likely operating without development consent … and suspected weekend tutoring on the premises … but an early investigation was shelved.

After the Bondi shootings … officers returned for surveillance … reported seeing a congregation … and issued a cease-use directive.

The centre closed within weeks.

The former operator, preacher Wissam Haddad, has not been charged … and there is no suggestion of involvement in the attack.

More than sixty councils across New South Wales are warning fuel shortages and higher prices could disrupt garbage and waste collections … unless the State guarantees supply.

The mayors … led by LGNSW President, Mayor Darcy Byrne … want any extra fuel costs subsidised through the waste levy councils already pay … nearly nine hundred million dollars this year.

Cr Byrne says councils are on the frontline of basic services … and communities should not carry the blow alone.

LGNSW is now gathering on the ground reports for the Treasurer … and will meet the waste sector to map out next steps.

Still in the inner west … a two year fight over asbestos contaminated mulch is still playing out.

Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne says the NSW EPA has accepted a $150,000 “enforceable undertaking” from contractors John Holland and CPB … sending the money to SafeWork NSW … in a deal that avoids prosecution.

Cr Byrne calls it loose change … arguing the firms made billions on the Rozelle Interchange and parklands … and that their clean up response was slow and under resourced. He says Sydney needs stronger consequences … to ensure the crisis is never repeated.

In western New South Wales … Warren Shire Council says it wants answers about a reported federal plan to buy up local farmland for carbon projects tied to the net zero target.

Mayor Greg Whitely and general manager Gary Woodman say the shire has heard little detail … including what properties are involved … and why Warren has been singled out in the Western Plains.

According to the Western Plains App, the issue surfaced after Senate Estimates heard modelling that meeting net zero could mean millions of hectares shift into land based sequestration by 2050.

Nationals MP Jamie Chaffey says that risks food and fibre production … and could erode council rate income. But the Federal Government says impacts will be limited.

Queensland Report

**Gold Coast City Council’**s most influential planning committee is being reshaped … after Mayor Tom Tate pushed through a change that split councillors nine votes to six, according to the Gold Coast Bulletin.

The move demotes an outspoken councillor … and has drawn sharp criticism from colleagues who say it concentrates power in a small group making big planning calls.

Supporters argue the changes will streamline decision-making … in a city where development pressure is constant.

But the close vote shows the tension inside the chamber … over how much scrutiny major projects should face … and who gets a seat at the table.

South Burnett Regional Council is warning that some projects may need to be delayed or re-scoped, due to rising fuel prices and supply chain disruptions.

The Council says cost pressures are climbing across its own operations … while contractors are flagging price hikes of thirty per cent or more.

Mayor Kathy Duff says the focus will be on core services … and on keeping flood damaged roads moving forward.

Meanwhile, Bundaberg Mayor and LGAQ president Matt Burnett has called for councils to be treated as essential services … so waste collection and other critical work can keep running if fuel supplies tighten.

Moreton Bay Council is urging the Queensland Government to bring forward the Bruce Highway Western Alternative … with a target of 2032, instead of the current estimate of 2041.

Mayor Peter Flannery says the Bruce Highway is a daily carpark … and delays are already creating uncertainty for planning and investment.

He warns the pressure will only build as new areas expand … with more homes, more jobs, and more vehicles.

The council says without a firm commitment and clear timelines … congestion and safety risks will worsen across the region.

Illegal dumping is back on the agenda in Douglas Shire … with council seeking funding to keep its surveillance program running.

The shire plans to apply for a two hundred and ninety five thousand dollar state grant … to retain a dedicated illegal dumping officer and monitoring through to twenty twenty nine.

Mayor Lisa Scomazzon says the work protects waterways, rainforest and public spaces … and she says enforcement is already making a difference.

Council argues ongoing funding would help keep pressure on repeat offenders … and reduce clean-up costs for ratepayers.

Tasmania

Brighton Council has voted to waive general rates for twelve months for eligible first home builders … as long as they can show they qualify for the State Government’s First Home Builder Grant.

Brighton Mayor Leigh Gray says the aim is to make settling into a new home a little easier … at a time when building costs are tight.

The council says the general rate is typically around eleven hundred to twelve hundred and sixty dollars a year … and calls the move a practical boost for young Tasmanians looking to build locally.

In Hobart … the Mercury reports that dog owners are about to lose off leash access to South Hobart Oval and the nearby Hobart Rivulet Track … after council voted to tighten its dog policy from July first.

Seven councillors backed the change … with Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds among five who opposed it.

The dispute has simmered for years between local dog walkers and the South Hobart Football Club … which leases the ground and says dogs have damaged the surface.

Hobart Dog Walking Association president Tanzi Lewis says the review has divided the community.

Council says it will spend one hundred and eighty thousand dollars on a new fenced off lead dog park at Lower Wellesley Park before the ban begins.

Glenorchy City Council has signed on to a new statement of commitment to LGBTIQA+ inclusion … along with a five year action plan for practical change.

Mayor Sue Hickey says it is about making the city safer and more welcoming … for the LGBTIQA+ community and for staff inside the organisation.

The plan will roll out in stages … including training, partnerships, and reviews of council policies and systems.

South Australia

Residents in Underdale will see a new set of eyes on Armour Avenue this week … as the City of West Torrens deploys a mobile CCTV unit called Iris.

Council says it is there for seven days… to track trucks using the street as a through route.

The council says the camera is used from time to time to support public safety … and it is not about general surveillance.

Any footage will only be checked if someone can give a specific date and time linked to a safety concern … and anything relevant may be passed to South Australian Police.

The City of Salisbury has launched a new Ability Inclusion Strategy … a four year plan with forty two actions to make it easier for people with disability to access council places, services, events, jobs and civic life.

The strategy was built with the community and the Disability Access and Inclusion Network … and it backs steps already underway like staff training, early consultation and universal design.

It also responds to new feedback … including better support for autistic people … and culturally safe ways to connect with Aboriginal people with disability.

Port Adelaide is getting ready to turn its streets and waterfront into one big stage … as New Found Sound returns next month.

The free, all ages festival runs on Saturday May ninth … with forty acts across ten venues … in and around historic Port Adelaide.

Organisers say it has grown quickly … attracting more than five and a half thousand music lovers.

Western Australia

In the City of Canning … Mayor Patrick Hall says local government won’t truly reflect the community until voting is compulsory.

PerthNow reported that he told councillors turnout is about thirty per cent … and in optional preferential voting, winners can need only half of that slice to get elected.

Mayor Hall argues making people vote … even if some donkey vote … would give councils a clearer mandate … like State and Federal polls.

But councillors voted eight to three against the change … warning compulsory voting could invite party politics and push up election costs.

The City of Stirling will start a six month FOGO trial in Coolbinia from mid May.

For households in the trial … the lime green garden bin becomes a food and garden organics bin … collected every week … while the red general waste bin moves to fortnightly pickup.

Mayor Mark Irwin says with a quarter of a million residents … Stirling wants to test what works before any wider rollout … and get honest feedback from locals.

Global Report

NZ:

In Auckland … Mayor Wayne Brown says councillors will no longer be served lunch during full council meetings … after a flare up over the city’s catering bill.

Auckland Council spent about one point four million dollars on food and drink in the year to March … and close to five million over four years … including large totals at Auckland Transport and Watercare.

Mayor Brown says the issue has become a distraction … and he wants attention on bigger spending decisions.

But others say it’s actually about a lack of a clear catering policy … and there are calls for tighter rules on when catering is approved, according to RNZ.

Napier’s first term mayor … Richard McGrath … has agreed to mentoring after councillors confronted him over how the council is being run.

Stuff reports that the move follows months of tension … including an unsuccessful push to remove voting rights for Māori committee members … and the resignation of an executive assistant who cited concerns about respect for Treaty principles.

The dispute escalated in February … when McGrath removed deputy mayor Sally Crown.

A group of councillors then sent a letter … calling for better consultation, transparency and communication … and set out a list of actions they wanted him to accept.

There is reportedly now a shared understanding … of what better leadership and governance should look like.

USA:

Tragedy in Coral Springs, Florida, where Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen has been found dead at her home during a welfare check on Wednesday morning.

Investigators say it was a domestic incident, according to Florida Politics dot com … and her husband, Stephen Bowen, has now been charged with first degree, premeditated murder … as well as evidence tampering.

Authorities say he was tracked down a short time later using license plate readers … then taken into custody by the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

Ms Metayer Bowen was 38 … an environmental scientist … and a trailblazing Haitian American leader in local government.

Several Massachusetts towns are dealing with a cyberattack on a regional emergency communications centre.

Officials say the attack on a Regional Emergency Communications Center affected phone and business lines for police and fire in the towns of Ashby, Dunstable, Pepperell and Townsend.

Town leaders say they’ve brought in insurers, cybersecurity specialists … and state and federal law enforcement to assess what was hit and what data might be exposed.

So far they say there’s no evidence private information has been shared, according to WCVB News.

In eastern Oregon … a lawsuit in the small city of Elgin is turning a dispute over spending records into a public fight over reputation and retaliation.

Former city administrator Brock Eckstein and his spouse, attorney Laura Eckstein, have filed a $3 million complaint against the city … its Mayor and current City Administrator.

The city says a forensic audit flagged improper credit‑card charges and missing records … including nearly $25,000 in personal expenses alleged over several years.

The Ecksteins say contracts allowed the spending … and claim the investigation and withheld pay were retaliation.

A judge will hear the city’s motion to strike the complaint next week.

UK:

As Britain heads toward local elections in May … the Electoral Commission is warning intimidation is driving candidates off the campaign trail.

New research suggests six in ten candidates faced harassment or threats … and many say they’re avoiding public events out of fear.

Chief Executive Vijay Rangarajan says the abuse comes at a personal cost … and is damaging democracy.

The commission is working with police on a national coordination operation … and issuing tailored safety advice.

It’s also urging social media companies to move faster to remove abusive content … so more people feel safe to stand.

Councils say they’re not the bottleneck in England’s housing crisis … and new numbers back them up.

A survey of 62 council areas finds barely half the homes granted planning permission since 2012 have actually been built.

That’s about 633 thousand approved … but around 331 thousand completed.

More than 200 thousand approved homes still haven’t started construction … even as government targets demand new supply.

The Local Councils Network says the biggest blockers are viability and profits … market demand … developer behaviour … and missing infrastructure like power, water and transport.

Police in England have dropped an investigation into a right wing Facebook page … after it shared a fake letter that appeared to come from Worcestershire County Council.

The post claimed the council had set aside seventy thousand pounds … for British flagpoles.

The council reported it to Police … and the force initially said it was assessing whether any offences had been committed.

Police now say … while false information can cause concern … they’re not treating this incident as a criminal matter.