Local Government Minister Adem Somyurek has decided to sack the Whittlesea City Council.Credit:Eddie Jim
Local Government Minister Adem Somyurek said government-appointed monitor Yehudi Blacher,who was installed late last year to observe council activities,had said the council should be sacked.
Mr Blacher determined councillors had stopped acting in the best interests of the City of Whittlesea and recommended they be replaced with administrators.
“Residents and ratepayers have every right to be deeply disappointed by their council,” Mr Somyurek said.
The government confirmed Mr Blacher’s report found the council was deeply divided,with personality conflicts that rendered it dysfunctional.
Administrators will be in place until at least the 2024 local government elections.
Simon Overland is among five Whittlesea chief executives in five years.Credit:AAP
Whittlesea Council had five chief executives over five years. More than $500,000 was spent on legal disputes between councillors and chief executives.
Opposition spokesman for local government Tim Smith said the government should have sacked this “dysfunctional council years ago.”