Minister for Local Government, Ron Hoening, has put in place a legislative safeguard to ensure Balranald Shire Council continues to thrive when it returns to having an elected council.

Balranald Shire Council held an extraordinary council meeting recently to discuss a Performance improvement Order (PIO) Issued by the Minister for Local Government, Ron Hoening.

In the documents, it was said the Performance Improvement Order was not a reflection on Administrator Mike Colreavy, or any actions taken by Council representatives in the past four years. The POI, issued under Section 438 A of the Local Government Act 1993, was instead issued to ensure the immense headway Council has made in the past four years does not decline.

In the document, Mr Hoening said he wanted to ensure the legacy of council was continued, and clear expectations were given to the incoming elected council, for the future of the governance and operations of council.

Detailed in the list of actions were council needs to maintain budget discipline and stability, especially given Council’s intent to retain ownership and operation of Bidgee Retirement Hostel.

Other actions included in the PIO are council needs to ensure and maintain access to appropriate staff expertise and engagement to provide advice for the councillors on financial governance and regulatory matters.

Council also will need to continue to address actions listed for completion in the 2017 Performance Improvement Order and the recommendations of the McCullough enquiry.

The latest PIO will run for 12 months, and is required to be completed in this timeframe.

Balranald Shire Council was invited to make submissions by Mr Hoening, after meeting the requirement of tabling the PIO in an open meeting, by way of resolution, if it determined.

However, the PIO was accepted by resolution by Council, in its current form, and Mr Hoening was advised by council that a detailed action plan will be formulated to ensure the detailed actions are addressed in a timely manner.