Perth councils told not to treat ratepayers’ money as ‘personal expense accounts’ after Auditor-General probe

Councils have been warned by the Local Government Minister not to treat ratepayers’ money as a “personal expense account” after an audit by the Auditor-General exposed spending on questionable items. The Auditor-General investigation unearthed credit card and store card spending of about $4.5 million at six metropolitan local governments — Cockburn, Fremantle, Melville, Perth, Subiaco and Victoria Park. The spending included the cost of providing wine and oysters at an off-site meeting, buying bottles of champagne and more than $1000 spent on a dinner with local elected members. Auditor-General Caroline Spencer said while her team found the cards had not been misused, it could be put down to a lack of clear guidelines. And she was not sure if some purchases passed the pub test. “In a climate where cost of living is a significant concern, we questioned if some purchases are in line with community expectations of responsible use of public money,” Ms Spencer said. Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley said the public expected transparency and responsibility from their local leaders. “Councils should not be treating ratepayers’ money like a personal expense account,” she said. “As part of the State Government’s council crackdown reforms, local governments in WA are now required to disclose all transactions made on credit or purchasing cards in their monthly financial reports. “I would strongly encourage councils to implement the Auditor-General’s recommendations to ensure spending is above board.” WA Local Government Association president Karen Chappel said local governments understood the community expected transparency and value for money and the sector was “committed to upholding the highest level of integrity and maintaining public trust”. The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries also provided guidance on the management of purchasing cards and changes in legislation. “Local governments across WA are committed to continuous improvement and feedback, both to strengthen practices and ensure transparency and accountability to the community,” Ms Chappel said. “It is important to note that the Auditor-General report and sample testing found no evidence of explicit misuse of public money. “It is also important to distinguish between instances where policy could be strengthened and systemic misconduct. “Generalised interpretation, or application to the sector, is not reflective of the overall findings of the Auditor-General report — or of the extraordinary work that local government performs across the State.” Opposition local government minister Kirrilee Warr said on Perth radio the spending did not pass the pub test. “In this current economic climate any public money is under scrutiny,” she said.