By Charlene Macaulay
Wyndham councillors have voted down controversial reforms to the council’s annual community grants program.
Councillors last week considered terms of reference for an evaluation panel of six councillors – including at least one councillor from each ward – to consider and vote on all eligible applications submitted through the community grants program.
Cr Josh Gilligan, who pushed for the panel, said the idea was to give councillors more engagement in the annual $1.6 million community grants process while “maintaining robust safeguards” .
But several councillors raised concerns about the terms of reference and the motion was defeated, with councillors John Gibbons, Kim McAliney, Henry Barlow, Mia Shaw and Tony Hooper voting against the panel and councillors Gilligan, Intaj Khan and Aaron An in favour.
Cr Barlow said he was uncomfortable with the idea that councillors would both make and vote on grant recommendations under the panel without any review by council officers at the end of the process.
“I’m a big fan of councillors staying at arm’s length when it comes to dishing out money to community groups because there has been a number of councils … where councillors are actually directing funding to self-interest groups,” he said. “I’m not suggesting anybody on this council would do that, but … it is a concern.”
Cr Hooper said he believed the panel would expose “council to perceived conflicts of interest”.
The council will maintain the status quo for its community grants process, with half of all available council grants determined by council officers and the rest voted on at council meetings with decisions based on council officer recommendations.
Cr Gilligan expressed his disappointment after last week’s vote.
“This now means community groups will be worse off when it comes to councillor awareness and involvement in local events and activities funded by council’s community grants program,” he said.
