Redland City Council Media Statement – Council vehicle

Redland City Council CEO Andrew Chesterman said:

The vehicle involved in the accident at the intersection of Queen and Wellington Streets, Cleveland last Thursday evening is owned by Redland City Council.  Council will continue to work through the next steps regarding its repair.

Council provides either a vehicle or vehicle allowance to all Councillors as part of their entitlements.

The Mayor has advised that she will pay for damages to the vehicle if she is found to have been over the legal alcohol limit for driving.  Council is not aware of any charges being made at this time.

The small post-budget event last Thursday in the Councillor Lounge was scheduled for one hour and was held to thank the people whose dedicated work had gone into developing Council’s 2022-23 budget over many months.

Approval was provided for three bottles of wine to be purchased in line with Council’s Entertainment and Hospitality Policy. There was also a small amount of alcohol and soft drink already in the Councillor Lounge fridge.

Limited amounts of alcohol are purchased, on rare occasions, and only to mark significant events, in accordance with the Entertainment and Hospitality Policy. On Sunday I asked for this Policy to be reviewed.

A small number of Council employees attended the thank you event, and only for a short time.

Council’s business continues as usual.  Every day, our dedicated employees work to deliver our many services to the community, whether that’s in libraries, parks and open spaces, our animal shelter, water and waste management or other areas of Council, working to help make Redlands Coast the great place it is.

Most of our employees are community members themselves, and each is committed to doing their very best for the Redlands Coast community.

Council has some important projects underway, including two major intergenerational projects – Birkdale Community Precinct and the Redlands Coast Regional Sport and Recreation Precinct at Mount Cotton – that will deliver public water parks, sporting fields, plenty of space to enjoy our naturally wonderful Redlands Coast, a home for our community’s future sports stars and much more.

Council has over 1000 dedicated employees getting on with the business of delivering these and other major projects in addition to our everyday services.  Their care and passion for the city we all serve, unites us a team.

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