By GEORGIA WESTGARTH AND KATHRYN BERMINGHAM
Casey council has been slammed as “hypocrites” after recent statistics revealed that more than a third of its decisions are made in secrecy.
Data released on the new Know Your Council website found that the City of Casey makes more decisions in council chamber meetings that are closed to the public than any other municipality in the south-east region.
The website uncovered that the state-wide average number of council decisions made at closed meetings, known as ‘in-camera’, was 12.20 per cent in the 2014-2015 year.
However the City of Casey made 37 per cent of its decisions behind closed doors, which is a stark contrast to neighbouring Cardinia shire which made just one decision in a closed meeting during the period.
Casey Residents and Ratepayers Association (CRRA) President Rex Flannery said the high number “isn’t surprising”.
“They want to go out into the community by conducting door-to-door market research by hiring a company to seem more transparent but then they are shutting us out in closed meetings,” Mr Flannery said.
“They’re doing it because they want to make the rates go up by 1 per cent each year because they want their capital works projects to go ahead.
“They are trying to open our doors at home and closing theirs – 37 per cent is not transparent, transparency is when you have nothing to hide,” he said.
During the same period neighbouring Cardinia shire made only one in-camera decision making it the most transparent council in the region.
That figure has baffled the secrecy-inclined Casey Mayor Sam Aziz.
“To say they’ve only made one decision in 12 months boggles me,” he said.
“There must be a clerical error somewhere.
“I can’t speak for them but I find it difficult to understand how that can be.”
Standing by his council’s high number of closed meeting decisions Cr Aziz said he is doing his municipality a service by making so many in private.
“They are made that way in the best interest of rate payers,” he said.
“You’ve got to remember, Casey is a huge infrastructure city and our current financial spending on infrastructure sits at 90 million so there’s a lot of contractual building activity in this municipality.
“Tendering decisions are best made in closed council to get the best value for money, otherwise information can be leaked into the market and give bidders an advantage.”
Cr Aziz said it is not appropriate to discuss certain matters such as suicide prevention and various sensitive subjects in public.
“In all seven years on council, I think the number of topics discussed at closed meetings has remained at around the same level,” he said.
“At the last council meeting about eight matters were brought up in closed council and all related to contractual matters.”
He said topics discussed in closed meetings include the consideration of personnel matters, personal hardship of a resident, industrial matters, proposed developments, contractual matters, matters affecting the security of council property, legal advice or any other matter deemed to prejudice the council or a person.
Know Your Council revealed that Yarra Ranges council makes 15.40 per cent of its decisions behind closed doors, with Baw Baw 15 per cent and the City of Greater Dandenong 2 per cent.
