Public Exhibition of draft Councillors’ Expenses and Facilities Policy

The City of Parramatta is seeking your input into recent amendments to the Councillors’ Expenses and Facilities Policy.

These amendments have been proposed to provide clarity to Councillors, staff and the community on Councillor access to reimbursements for legal assistance, and bring the policy into line with the advice and guidance provided by the Department of Premier and Cabinet and Office of Local Government.

These amendments are shown in the following table, with the full draft Councillors’ Expenses and Facilities Policy available for download here.

Proposed Amendments – Councillors’ Expenses and Facilities Policy – May 2020

Reference

Part B

Section 8 – Legal Assistance

Clause 8.1

Original

8.1 Council may, if requested reimburse the reasonable legal expenses of:

a Councillor defending an action arising from the performance in good faith of a function under the Local Government Act, provided that the outcome of the legal proceedings is favourable to the Councillor; a Councillor defending an action in defamation, provided the statements complained of were made in good faith in the course of exercising a function under the Local Government Act in a Council meeting or on Council related business (such as on-site meetings) and provided that Council is satisfied that such statements complained of occurred during the bona fide consideration of Council business, in good faith and without malice and the outcome of the legal proceedings is favourable to the Councillor; a Councillor for proceedings before an appropriate investigative or review body, provided the subject of the proceedings arises from the performance in good faith of a function under the Local Government Act and the matter has proceeded past any initial assessment phase to a formal investigation or review and the investigative or review body makes a finding substantially favourable to the Councillor.

Proposed

8.1 Council may, if requested, indemnify or reimburse the reasonable legal expenses of:

a Councillor, or former Councillor, defending an action arising from the performance in good faith of a function under the Local Government Act, provided that the outcome of the legal proceedings is favourable to the Councillor, or former Councillor; a Councillor, or former Councillor, defending an action in defamation, provided the statements complained of were made in good faith in the course of exercising a function under the Local Government Act in a Council meeting or on Council related business (such as on-site meetings) and provided that Council is satisfied that such statements complained of occurred during the bona fide consideration of Council business, in good faith and without malice and the outcome of the legal proceedings is favourable to the Councillor, or former Councillor; a Councillor, or former Councillor, for proceedings before an appropriate investigative or review body, provided the subject of the proceedings arises from the performance in good faith of a function under the Local Government Act and the matter has proceeded past any initial assessment phase to a formal investigation or review and the investigative or review body makes a finding substantially favourable to the Councillor, or former Councillor.

Reference

Part B

Section 8 – Legal Assistance

Clause 8.5

Original

8.5 Reimbursement of expenses for reasonable legal expenses must have Council approval by way of a resolution at a Council meeting prior to costs being incurred. Any reimbursement of a Councillor’s, reasonable legal costs by Council would also be subject to:

the amount of such reimbursement being reduced by the amount of any monies that may be or are otherwise recouped by the Councillor, on any basis; the amount of such reimbursement of solicitors fees being limited to the extent that only fees charged at a rate equivalent to the average hourly rate then being charged by Council's legal services panel will be paid (i.e. any portion of the expenses representing any hourly charge rate higher than the then average hourly charge rate then being charged by law firms on Council's legal services panel will not be reimbursed). Where Counsel is used, the reimbursement of Counsel fees is to be submitted to Council for approval; and any reimbursement not including any damages awarded to, or made against the Councillor.

Proposed

8.5 Reimbursement of expenses for reasonable legal expenses must have Council approval by way of a resolution at a Council meeting prior to costs being incurred. Any reimbursement of a Councillor’s, or former Councillor’s, reasonable legal costs by Council would also be subject to:

the amount of such reimbursement being reduced by the amount of any monies that may be or are otherwise recouped by the Councillor, or former Councillor, on any basis; the amount of such reimbursement of solicitors fees being limited to the extent that only fees charged at a rate equivalent to the average hourly rate then being charged by Council's legal services panel will be paid (i.e. any portion of the expenses representing any hourly charge rate higher than the then average hourly charge rate then being charged by law firms on Council's legal services panel will not be reimbursed). Where Counsel is used, the reimbursement of Counsel fees is to be submitted to Council for approval; and any reimbursement not including any damages awarded to, or made against the Councillor, or former Councillor.

The draft policy is on public exhibition from 20 May 2020 to 17 June 2020 and can be viewed in the following ways:

During this unprecedented time of COVID-19, hard copy documents are unavailable for viewing by the public due to the shutdown of Council libraries and in-person Customer Contact Centre. However, should a viewing of a hard copy of this policy be required, please call (02) 9806 5198 to arrange an appointment.

All submissions received by Council will be considered before final decisions are made. Any submissions received may be made publicly available. All submissions are to be in writing and received by 5.00pm 17 June 2020.

To make a submission or for more information, please email [email protected] or contact the Executive Support Team on (02) 9806 5198.

Submissions can also be sent by post to:

Councillors’ Expenses and Facilities Policy Consultation Attention: Executive Support Unit City of Parramatta PO Box 32 Parramatta NSW 2124

For further information, please contact Council on (02) 9806 5050.