Fifteen months after Wangaratta Council first announced it wanted to turn control of the city’s saleyards over to a co-operative, the idea is set to be officially quashed.
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In a notice of motion published in the agenda for Tuesday’s council meeting, Cr Ruth Amery said she would ask her colleagues to “agree in principle to develop a management structure which would be a council-owned entity”.
The motion was at odds with what council management had proposed as a way to maximise the profits of the newly developed saleyards.
Infrastructure services director Alan Clark initially pitched a co-operative consisting of 100 to 150 shareholders including producers, selling agents and council-nominated directors.
But potential stakeholders were concerned about the reliability of returns.
Cr Amery said she wanted the business to be sustainable into the future, while mitigating potential risks.
“The facility has been operated under direct council management, with or without the assistance of an advisory committee, since its inception,” she said.
“Whilst this arrangement has been satisfactory in the past, the recent multi-million-dollar upgrade demands a thorough review and determination of the business and governance model that will deliver improved levels of throughput, accountability, decision-making and performance for this community asset.
“Accordingly, there is a need to consider how an appropriate balance can be achieved between the need to act in a commercially efficient manner and legitimate concerns for service delivery, accountability and transparency in council’s activities.”
There is a need to consider how an appropriate balance can be achieved between the need to act in a commercially efficient manner and legitimate concerns for service delivery.
- Cr Ruth Amery
The councillor asked officers to provide a detailed briefing on the saleyards by next month.
Her motion will not come as a surprise to the management team – none of the candidates in the lead-up to October’s elections favoured the co-operative model.
Cr Amery did not propose a specific new management model in her motion.
“The appropriate business, governance and management structure for the saleyards is one that will give assurance that it is managed effectively, efficiently and sustainably,” she said.
Tuesday’s Wangaratta Council meeting will be held at Carboor Soldiers Memorial Hall from 6pm.