Council does away with internal ombudsman
Central Coast Council is to do away with the position of internal ombudsman at the end of the month.
It will create a position of disclosures and investigations coordinator, reporting to Council, the executive leadership team, and the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee.
The change comes about "in response to community concerns being raised about the impartiality and independence of the Office of the Internal Ombudsman, as it reports to the chief executive officer," a staff report told last week's council meeting.
"It is considered that more transparent and arms' length options exist for the prevention of, and investigation into, instances of corrupt conduct, misconduct, and maladministration at Central Coast Council.
"Statutory disclosures and investigations would be undertaken in a hybrid manner between externally-engaged investigators and the Governance, Risk and Legal Unit.
"To ensure ongoing impartiality and independence, guidelines are to be developed to facilitate the transparent triaging, preliminary investigation, and external investigation pursuant to agreed thresholds.
"The disclosures and investigations coordinator would also have unfettered access to the mayor or Administrator, the chief executive officer, and the chair of the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee to facilitate increased independence of action."
SOURCE:
Central Coast Council agenda 2.23, 21 Feb 2023