Rod Hanson will chair the independent review committee.
THREE people have been appointed to the City of Greater Bendigo's independent review committee.
Former Unity Mining managing director Rod Hanson was named as chair, while Nigel McGuckian and Margaret O’Rourke were named as community members last night.
Mayor Lisa Ruffell, Cr James Williams and Cr Peter Cox will also work on the committee, which will call for and evaluate submissions, shortlist and interview tenderers if required, and recommend the appointment of a consultant.
“This is a unique opportunity for our community to have input into how the City of Greater Bendigo operates into the future,” Cr Ruffell said.
The committee will also outline the scope, quality, cost and timing of the review.
About $250,000 has been set aside for the review, which is expected to be finished by the end of June.
Cr Ruffell said public submissions would be called for from Saturday and should focus on council income and expenditure, quality of service delivered, prioritising of capital and major works and council communication and community engagement strategies. Submissions will close on April 2.
A decision to independently review the council in a bid to find savings and improve efficiency was made in December last year.
The decision has struck fear in some staff with the Australian Services Union confirming they had been contacted with by about half a dozen people.
ASU organiser Danny Harris told the Bendigo Advertiser last month local councils reviewed their operations on a regular basis and that senior managers reviewed staff, making the independent review unnecessary.
