Ray Norman Advocate: eMAIL TO COUNCILLORS: Failing Council Processes

Dear Mayor & Councillors,

I write on my own account and on behalf of a group of clients in regard to Council’s inadequate management of its COVID-19 Grants devised and designed for the purpose of assisting Launceston businesses cope with the pandemic’s impacts upon business viability in the city. I and my clints agree that this was an appropriate initiative, even in retrospect for those who questioned it at time.

The issue right now is the outright delinquency of some of the grant recipients. That is, once the adequacy and the deficiencies of the ‘grants process’ are put to one side – devised on the hop as it was. The recent ‘naming and shaming’ of those recipients who have not been able or willing to acquit the grant of ratepayers’ monies is totally inappropriate.

For the truly unaccountable and recalcitrant recipients, they will brush their ‘exposure’ off as ‘yesterday’s news’.Nonetheless, for some others there will be a sense of injustice depending upon their personal circumstances. None of this is in any way helpful or useful.

Standard practice with funding agencies is totally different as I understand the processes and their purpose. I speak here with considerable experience and first-hand knowledge as a ‘serial grant recipient’ in my professional life – some 30 years plus. Moreover, for part of that time I administered a Tasmanian State Govt ‘Grants and Loans Program’ that was great deal larger than Council’s initiative last year and fully accountable to the Tasmanian Auditor General.

Thus I find Council’s apparent disinclination to be accountable itself, or to hold grant recipients truly accountable, very concerning. Likewise, my clients find it all so bewildering to say the very least. The base issue here is that in receiving ‘agrant for a purpose’ the recipients have‘contractual obligations’ to use grant monies for the purpose for which it was intended. Arguably, and on the available evidence, non-compliant grant recipient are in breach of their ‘contract obligations’ with Launceston’s ratepayers.

What needs to done now? Firstly, there needs to be acknowledgement on the part of the elected representatives that there is a need to ensure that recipients of ‘ratepayers’ monies’ must be held accountable for the monies they receive from ratepayers. That is money that might well be used for other purposes and that might well be for purpose where other ‘needs’ need to be met.

After that Councillors should insist:

That all non-compliant grant recipients are notified that they have 30 days to demonstrate that they individually have applied the grant they have received for ‘the purpose for which it was intended’; and

Notify these ‘recipient’ who have thus far have ‘not acquitted their grant’ that unless they can do so they will be required to refund the grant money in order that it can be redirected to other purposes; and

Notify them that if for ‘reasons of hardship’ they are unable to meet the requirements above they must notify Council within 30 days so as to avoid further overt action being taken to recover the funds.

Council has the capacity and the administrative mechanism in place for the receipt of funds and in this instance may choose to impose a ‘rate levy’ upon non-compliant grant recipients who are indeed ratepayers. Indeed, Council employs a ‘Compliance Officer’ who should have the wherewithal to ensure that non-compliant grant recipients meet their ‘contractual obligations’.

If there is the will on the part of the elected representatives – and that appears to be in doubt – this class of ‘money recovery’ can/could/might be initiated almost immediately. If they, as councillors, are inhibited in any way they should declare their inhibitions with the people they represent openly band transparently – and sooner rather than later.

Given that Council meets this week anyone of you have the opportunity to share my concerns, and that of my clients, on the public record. I look forward with interest to the outcome of your shared concerned with ratepayers, some of whom are significantly aggrieved.

Yours sincerely,

Ray Norman

The lifestyle design enterprise and research network

eMAIL 1: raynorman7250@bigpond.com

40 Delamere Crescent Trevallyn TAS. 7250

WEBsites:http://www.raynorman7250.blogspot.com

“A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” Thomas Paine

“The standard you walk past is the standard you accept” David Morrison

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