President Manning said he will chair the next council meeting on Tuesday March 25 and wants to remain president to oversee the appointment of a new shire CEO.

CEO job applicants

A report on job applicants was presented to councillors on March 3 after the council engaged national recruitment agency Beilby Downing Teal to advertise the $158,000-$260,000 job on a four-year contract.

President Manning said he also wanted to oversee the council’s response to any recommendations that may arise from the State Government inquiry.

He listed the two items as “unfinished business” when he resigned from the council last October to recontest his seat under new rules which for the first time allowed all electors to vote for all candidates.

President Manning said publicly before the poll that he was selling his home and unlikely to serve a full term if re-elected.

Inquiry report pending

The WA Local Government Department says the investigators’ report is still being examined by the State Solicitors Office to consider any prosecutions that may arise.

It is understood Mr Scott did not re-apply for his current $243,000-a-year job after failing twice last year to convince the council to let him stay for another three to five years when his contract expires on July 22.

Mr Scott took three weeks’ sick leave at short notice before a council meeting on February 25 but did not inform President Manning of his absence after attending a morning briefing with President Manning and Deputy President Rosemary Madacsi.

His automated email says “I am out of the office until Monday March 16”.

New elections needed

A new election for a council vacancy must be held within four months of President Manning’s resignation.

It also means the other eight councillors must elect a new president at the first council meeting after President Manning resigns.

This can be done at the scheduled Tuesday April 28 monthly council meeting or if an earlier special meeting is called.

Unlike council elections that involve all voters, Toodyay’s president and deputy are elected by a secret ballot of councillors who must be in the chamber when the vote is called.

When eight councillors (Cr Paula Greenway was absent on approved leave) tried to elect a new president last October, it resulted in a 4-4 deadlock between former deputy shire president Therese Chitty and Cr Rosemary Madacsi.

Cr Madacsi was re-elected to the council last year after serving four years from 2011 until she lost her seat in 2015 to former North Ward Cr Eric Twine.

Cr Ben Bell – who won the most votes in last October’s shire elections – was the first to announce in October that he would run for president but withdrew a day before the new council’s first secret ballot.

The stand-off between Crs Chitty and Madacsi resulted in both withdrawing their nominations to enable Cr Manning to be elected president unopposed a week later.

Cr Madacsi – who polled the second-highest number of votes in last October’s shire elections – was then elected deputy with five votes, followed by Cr Chitty (two) and Cr Bell (one).

Madacsi to nominate for President

Deputy President Madacsi says she will again nominate for president when Cr Manning resigns next month.

She will need the support of least four other councillors (including at least one of her former opponents) to gain an absolute majority of five votes as required by law on the normally nine-member council.

If she loses to any challenger, she will remain deputy to whoever else is elected president.

Crs Chitty and Bell told The Herald last month that they would not run again for president though both voted against Cr Madacsi when she nominated for president last October.

Former shire president Brian Rayner also said he wouldn’t run again, though it is understood that he too voted against Cr Madacsi last year.

Rayner may run for deputy

Cr Rayner said he might nominate next month for deputy president, depending on who is elected president.

He was shire president for two years until last October after not needing to contest an election in 2017 when he stood for council unopposed in the now-abolished North Ward.

Cr Rayner has never faced an election by all voters under new rules adopted last year.

Audit Committee Chair Beth Ruthven, who – like Cr Madacsi – was elected by all Toodyay voters five months ago, said she would not nominate to be president but declined to comment on the deputy’s role.

Three other councillors – veteran Paula Greenway and newcomers Phil Hart and Susan Pearce – appear unlikely to be contenders.

Cr Greenway – who has also never faced an election by all Toodyay voters – ran unsuccessfully against Cr Chitty for deputy in 2015 after the previous council re-elected former Cr David Dow unopposed as president until his election defeat in 2017.

Recent council voting patterns suggest there is no obvious factional split to oppose Cr Madacsi’s new presidential bid.

However, last October’s stand-off when four current councillors voted against her becoming president suggests fresh behind-the-scenes jockeying may be underway.

If another challenger emerges and the council is again deadlocked in a new 4-4 split that cannot be resolved, the presidency will be decided by a lottery draw.

Marathon meeting

The actual amount of money or percentage that would be saved was not revealed or discussed at last month’s marathon council meeting which started at 4pm and ended at 10.15pm after a half-hour dinner break.

The Herald estimates the total saving to be about $3360 – a 2.2 per cent cut on the total of $171,000 budgeted this year to pay the nine-member council.

Councillors earlier voted 5-4 to defeat a motion by Cr Rayner, seconded by Cr Paula Greenway and supported by Crs Ben Bell and Therese Chitty to cut allowances and fees to 50 per cent of the maximum State rate – a saving of about $36,000 a year.

Pay rise recommended

This followed a shire administration recommendation to increase councillors’ payments to 80 per cent of the maximum State rate – costing a further $13,700 a year – “to reflect what appeared from discussion to be the common view” behind closed doors at last month’s council strategic forum.

“I don’t understand why we want more money,” Cr Bell said.’

“If you want to annoy people, that’s the way to do it.

“If you think this council had a bad reputation before the last election, see what people say after they read this in The Herald,” Cr Bell said.

Deputy President Madacsi said good representation on council required recognition that not everyone had the means to absorb the wage losses and extra costs associated with being an elected member.

‘Exclusive’ warning

“If we’re not careful, we will make the council exclusive only to those who can afford it and retirees,” she said.

Cr Chitty said she agreed that increasing councillors’ fees and allowances was “not a good look”.

“I think we need to take a pay cut and save money in the budget ‒ I will vote for 50 per cent,” she said.

Shire President Bill Manning said he didn’t think councillors should be giving themselves a pay rise but 50 per cent of the State maximum rate was “too drastic a cut”.

“If we cut it to 70 per cent, that brings us pretty much in line with other similar councils,” he said.

‘Right reasons’

Cr Rayner said if councillors adopted 50 per cent “it would show we’re in this for the right reasons, not the wrong reasons.

Cr Ruthven said she didn’t think Toodyay councillors were overpaid compared with other councils

“It’s an important job like teachers – if you don’t pay enough, what do you get?” she said.

Cr Greenway disagreed, saying “We are supposed to lead our community and now is the time it is needed”.

“Being financially reimbursed is not part of being a councillor,” Cr Greenway said.

Cr Susan Pearce said “wages are not a part of it – it’s recognition of what we do.”

Toodyay councillors currently get paid $1080 a month to attend meetings, President Manning gets $3366 and Deputy President Madacsi gets $1503, which is about 80 per cent of the State maximum rate.

They are also entitled to claim payments for internet, phones, travel and other expenses, budgeted this year to total $21,600.

Residents were evacuated to Shire of Toodyay emergency centres at the town’s Memorial Hall and at the Toodyay Showground (for those with pets) and provided with tea, coffee, snacks and support services.

Seven water bomber helicopters and a fixed wing aircraft flew immediately from Perth and spent the next three hours before nightfall limiting the bulk of the fire as emergency ground crews (left) worked through the night to cut and hold containment lines.

They were able to arrest the fire in dense, inaccessible bush about 240m from dozens of nearby homes which were evacuated.

It was the second emergency warning in a month for nearby Majestic Heights residents after their homes were threatened by another big bush fire which started on December 11 when a petrol-driven brush cutter lit farmland near the Toodyay golf course during a shire hot works and harvest ban.

The earlier fire burnt out 16ha and forced the closure of Toodyay Road for several hours as volunteer firefighters worked through the night to save dozens of hilltop homes, the golf course, racetrack and a caravan park and holiday chalets.

Majestic Heights bore the brunt of Toodyay’s catastrophic Decem

ber 2009 fire when more than 100 homes were destroyed or severely damaged.

Toodyay Road was again closed last month – this time for 20 hours from 5pm on January 8 – as metro and rural firefighting units rushed to the new fire after a 38C day.

‘We dodged a bullet – it was scary, scary scary’

They spent the next 31 hours battling to contain and control the blaze before it was safe for crews to leave.

Local farmers with mobile water tanks helped fire crews using heavy earthmoving machinery to clear containment lines as a fleet of water bombers worked overhead.

The fire burnt out 90ha and reached the edge of a farmhouse, which fire crews were able to defend and save.

No homes were lost and mopping up operations lasted another two weeks.

“It was scary, scary, scary – the worst fire I have ever faced,” local firefighter John Hansen said.

“If not for the Helitacs (helicopter water bombers, left and below) and ground crews able to clear a line in front of the fire, it would have been a total nightmare, a complete disaster.

“We dodged a bullet that day.”

Police said last month’s fire “most likely” started by a cigarette butt thrown from a passing car on Toodyay Road.

The fire was first reported by a motorist driving towards Toodyay.

Local volunteer bushfire brigades had to rush to another fire near a rural residential subdivision on last month’s Australia Day Monday public holiday when a Wicklow Road property owner allegedly used an angle grinder during a shire hot works and harvest ban.

The fire burnt half a hectare and is being investigated by Toodyay police for potential prosecution.

Acting Sgt Kevan French said all Toodyay residents should register to receive shire works and harvest ban notices on their phones by texting ‘BANS’ to 0408 017 439.

He ordered the inquiry after 11 months’ official monitoring of the shire and departmental criticism of its performance.

Three official investigators were appointed to inquire into the Toodyay Shire Council and its administration and report on whether they were functioning in the best interests of the community.

The investigators spent most of last year collecting many hours of evidence based on personal interviews with dozens of Toodyay witnesses before questioning shire councillors and staff.

The inquiry draft report is understood to be hundreds of pages long.

A Government spokesperson said a “senior authorised officer” had reviewed the draft report and forwarded it to the State Solicitor’s Office for assessment.

The Town of Cambridge and Shire of Wiluna are undergoing similar inquiries.

The front of the Pacific National locomotive cabin was crushed by the impact which upended the rear wagon of the grain train and spilled tonnes of grain and other wreckage onto the track.

Emergency crews worked day and night over the Christmas break to clear the line.

AvonLink and Prospector rail passengers were transferred to road coaches on Christmas Eve.

No AvonLink or Prospector services were scheduled to run on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and the line was reopened on December 27.

The crash is being investigated by the Canberra-based Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which operates a WA regional office at Perth Airport.

The bureau reported that both trains were substantially damaged.

The 61-year-old deceased man from Perth was employed by Pacific National, an Australian freight train operator based in Sydney.

He had previously worked as a police officer, youth worker and train driver in New Zealand, and was a leading member of the Mormon Church in Perth.

The grain train was operated by US transport company Watco, which lists WA grain handler CBH as its biggest Australian customer.

The line operator is Arc Infrastructure (formerly Brookfield Rail), which manages 5500km of rail in WA’s South-West and is owned by global Canadian company Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.

Federal investigators will examine the rolling stock and track infrastructure layout, interview workers and staff, analyse train computer records and inspect relevant documents.

The safety bureau said it expected to take more than six months to complete its investigation and release a final report.

“Should a critical safety issue be identified during the course of the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify those affected and seek safety action to address the issue,” the bureau said.

About 500 hundred mourners attended the deceased driver’s funeral in Greenmount last month.

Mr Scott wrote a six-page report to last month’s council meeting urging councillors to reject President Manning’s proposal.

He said private industry supported a “clear separation of powers” between elected members and employed staff.

He quoted from a regional industry group submission that “it is imperative that there is a clear understanding by all of their responsibilities and boundaries”.

The WA Local Government Association (WALGA), which represents councils, and Local Government Professionals WA, which represents staff and of which Mr Scott is listed as Avon Branch Deputy President, supported this view too, he said.

However, both lobby groups failed last year to change local government law when the State Government withdrew its contested amendment to abolish council control over ‘Senior Employees’.

Big salaries

The roles of Corporate Services Manager Chileya Luangala, Planning and Development Manager Kobus Nieuwoudt, Works and Services Manager Scott Patterson and Community Development Manager Audrey Bell fall into that category.

None of them were previously designated in Toodyay as “Senior Employees”.
The shire’s latest annual report shows that each of the shire’s four senior managers earn $100,000-$130,000 a year, and Mr Scott gets $180,000-$190,000 a year.

Mr Scott said the overwhelming view of key industry bodies and the State Government was that the “Senior Employees” clause was an anachronism and should be removed.

He said it was still “likely to be removed” in future legislative amendments and recommended “that council NOT designate any employees as Senior Employees”.

‘Delving into administration’

Mr Scott’s recommendation was moved by Cr Brian Rayner and seconded by Cr Therese Chitty.

Cr Rayner said the current system had worked successfully for many years – changing it would result in the council “delving into administration”.

President Manning (left) said employing senior staff involved “important, critical decisions and I believe the council should have some say in those appointments and decisions”.

“It was put to Parliament to remove those provisions but didn’t get through despite being government policy,” he said.

Mr Scott’s recommendation to keep his power to hire and fire senior staff without council approval was lost 5-3 (Cr Ben Bell on leave), with only Crs Rayner, Paula Greenway and

Phil Hart backing Mr Scott.

Cr Greenway requested that the councillors’ names and votes be recorded in the minutes.

A second motion to designate the top four shire management roles as “Senior Employees” was moved by Cr Beth Ruthven and seconded by Deputy President Rosemary Madacsi.

‘Friction’

Deputy President Madacsi said that if there was “friction or an issue thing when a person is dismissed” the council had a responsibility to become involved.

Cr Greenway said she disagreed.

Mr Scott said the change “amounts to a power of veto”.

His view was rejected 5-3 with President Manning, Deputy President Madacsi, and Crs Chitty, Ruthven and Hart voting in favour on the motion, and Crs Rayner, Greenway and Sue Pearce against.

Cr Greenway again asked that their names be recorded.

See Editorial