HORSHAM council has knocked back a suggestion for an audit of its draft City to River masterplan.
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Councillor David Grimble moved a motion of the proposal at the council's August meeting on Monday night.
His motion stated that "council seek an independent audit of its authorisation and decision-making to commence and advance the City to River masterplan against its relevant in time council plan".
"The independent audit be conducted as a priority and undertaken by qualified auditors with local government experience to perform the task. A closing report be provided to council clearly stating its conclusions including any recommendations for consideration of council," Cr Grimble's motion read.
Cr Grimble said the reasoning behind his motion was to "minimise ambiguity whilst addressing concerns raised in the community" regarding the 20 year futures plan.
"This motion has nothing to do with the merits of the City to River plan, it's around demystifying the decision-making process," he said.
"I have been asked by several people how this plan came about. It's about clearing up and having a more transparent approval process. I have made comments before that this plan was led by consultants and we missed the opportunity to engage our community."
He encouraged his fellow councillors to support his motion.
"If you're confident that the processes have been put in place, then you should support the audit which will address the concerns that have been raised by the community," he said.
"I have gone back through the minutes and can't answer the questions put to me, which are 'who made this decision, how was it made and when was it made'. It's not about being critical about the process, but improving the process."
Cr Grimble's motion was seconded by Cr John Robinson. Cr Robinson said he supported Cr Grimble's comments.
"This is a 20 year commitment that will have significant impacts on the community," he said.
"We need to get the building blocks right, and what Cr Grimble is proposing will mean those building blocks are right. If we don't do that, a lot of our projects going ahead will receive criticism and have prejudiced outcomes."
Mayor Mark Radford spoke against the motion. Cr Radford said developing the draft City to River masterplan was a Key Performance Indicator of the council's chief executive Sunil Bhalla.
"This wasn't a suggestion, he was in charge of doing it as part of his key expectations which was decided by this council. It's important that we support the CEO," he said.
Cr Radford said 13 strategies were amalgamated to create the draft City to River masterplan.
Cr Les Power did not speak to Cr Grimble's motion.
Crs Grimble and Robinson voted in favour, while Crs Power and Radford voted against. Mayor Radford had the deciding vote and the motion was dismissed.
Crs Pam Clarke, Alethea Gulvin and Josh Koenig were absent at Monday's meeting.
Speaking to the Mail-Times after the meeting, Cr Grimble said he had considered deferring his motion to a meeting where more councillors were present.
"I'm surprised the council didn't support the audit because it's not unusual for councils to evaluate their process and make improvements. This is about separation of power and responsibilities," he said.
Consultancy firm Urban Enterprise created the draft plan. It cost the council close to $160,000.
Cr Radford said the council had recently reached 400 submissions for the plan.
The plan is on public exhibition until August 30.
Related:
See Horsham council's full August agenda below
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