< CAR PARK REPORT

Report of the Car Park Working Group

Purpose of the Report

This report was commissioned by Melbourne Parish Council because of public concern over the cost of a project to refurbish the Village Car Park.

The object of the report is to identify areas of concerns regarding

• The decision-making process for this project from conception to completion and to make recommendations to the Parish Council.
• The management of the project.
• The ongoing review of the project

History

Methodology

1. The Working Group reviewed the minutes of all meetings over the relevant period and looked for supporting information to support the Councils decision making process.
2. The Working Group undertook a survey of the elected councillors during the period of this project to obtain certain views.

Issues for the Working Group

The Working Group found that:

• There were very limited supporting papers to demonstrate the quality of information the Council had received to inform its decision making.
• There were no formal records of decions made by individual Councillors and or officers in the management of the contract.
• Considering the value of the project in relation to the Council’s budget the management of the project was not the subject of a review by the Internal Auditor.
• There were no clear and open lines of reporting to the Council regarding the progress of the project.
• The Council often choose to consider items regarding the project confidentially there by removing the public from the debate and the project from public scrutiny.

Observations

How the Council operates

Councillors are not paid employees of the Council.

Under the Council’s Code of Conduct they have a legal duty to declare and personal or pecuniary interests.

Councillors are elected every four years to promote the wellbeing of the community and to manage the Councils finances with due diligence for the benefit of the community.

Within any democratic system there will be councillors who do not agree with the decision of the majority. However, Council’s operate on the basis that a simple majority will carry the vote on any decision.

Any decision of the Council can only be reviewed after 6 months or earlier if there is a required number of councillors requesting for that decision to be reviewed.

Decisions of the Council are a shared corporate responsibility and Councillors have a duty to scrutinise and hold to account the Councils actions.

The culture of organisations is to look for individuals to blame if things do not turn out as they had expected or if they are challenged. However, without the contribution, professional knowledge and drive of individual councillor’s projects would not be delivered.

Public Consultation

Despite the decision-making process outlined above, it is good practice for a Council to consult with the public. This is particularly suggested where it involves major projects and assets or where the cost of a project will have a large impact on the Councils finances.

The Council relied on an earlier consultation to support the need to renovate the car park. On reflection, it would have been appropriate to consider a wider consultation with the public and relevant agencies to identify the need.

Tendering

The Council employed a consultant to assist with the tendering process and this complied with the recommended financial regulations. The result of the process was that the Council appointed a project management company and a contractor to complete the work.

The Councils Internal Management of the Project

The Internal Management of the project due to the cost of the project would have been more appropriately managed by the Finance Committee or Full Council.

• It would have been appropriate for the Council to adopt a simple project management practice to ensure it complied with both due diligence and accountable day to day management.
• The creation of a specific project management working group to help facilitate a project would be beneficial, however it would have to have clear terms of reference and any delegation would have to be to the Parish Clerk.

It is important that decisions to change the project and or to spend contingency funds are clearly recorded, identified, discussed and agreed. These decisions should not be delegated to one councillor or the Clerk.

The reason for this is to allow the Council the opportunity to review the progress of the project against budget and to be able to halt or review a project should the cost of the project be increasing outside the agreed budget.

As part of this management there should be regular budget reporting of cost against budget to the Finance Committee and the Council.

The Council should not be afraid of scrutiny by other councillors or the public.

Moving items on an Agenda in to Confidential

The use of the confidential section on an agenda should be used sparingly.

The reports on this type of project should be considered in public, to demonstrate that the Council is being diligent in managing its finances and assets.

Moving items away from public scrutiny can contribute to an air of mistrust between the Council and its residents.

The confidential part of the agenda should only be used for the following;

• Engagement, terms of service, conduct and dismissal of employees.
• Terms of tenders, and proposals and counter proposals in negotiations for contracts.
• Preparation of cases in legal proceedings and
• The early stages of any dispute.

Accountability

The position Melbourne Parish Council has found itself in, is because of several factors all coming together

• The Council pushed forward with the project for the benefit of the community in mind.
• Its desire to complete the project and the constraints of a NJC contract were detrimental to the openness of the Council to the public.
• Ensuring that the Council had a clear mandate from the residents to go ahead with a major project would have been helpful in managing objectors to the project.
• Projects of this size need to be managed in such a way that the residents have confidence in the Council. It is therefore necessary to have a clear and open reporting system which the public can see and question.
• The Council finances are an important reflection of the capability of the Council and this should be reflected in its financial reporting in general and on specific projects

Summary Recommendations

• The Council should use public consultation as a tool to inform their decision making.
• The results of public consultation should be documented in support of projects.
• The Council should adopt a project management practice for all future projects.
• Projects with a major financial impact should be managed overall by the Finance Committee or Full Council.
• The Council should consider the use of Working Groups including Councillors, The Parish Clerk and other professional to help deliver projects.
• Delegation for these projects should be to the Parish Clerk only, this will protect the integrity of the Councillors and the Council.
• A system of recording decisions and actions should be included in the Project management practice and these should be made available to the Council.
• The Council should reduce the use of the confidential part of the agenda.
• By putting the above in place the Council should encourage scrutiny of its actions and decision making.

< CAR PARK REPORT