26 November, 2014 10:21AM ACDT
Robe council CEO responds to misconduct allegations
The CEO of Robe District Council has responded to serious allegations
made against him and the council on ABC South East's Morning Show.
Roger Sweetman said the Office of Public Integrity
(OPI) would investigate an allegation inferring that Mr Sweetman held an
inappropriate relationship with council auditors.
Earlier this year, the OPI had investigated a separate allegation
relating to alleged misappropriation of funds by Robe District Council
staff for the Lake Butler marina project, but said there was insufficient evidence to warrant further investigation.Mr Sweetman said he was pleased council had been vindicated, but described the new allegations against him personally as 'baseless' and 'abhorrent'.
The complaint had been to made confidentially to auditor, Galpins.
"I have many professional relationships with people in local government," he said.
"I have a professional relationship with our auditor, but that's the end of it.
"However, because these allegations have been made as a public officer under the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) legislation, I have to do something about it."
Mr Sweetman said the allegations meant council would be unable to sign off on audited financial statements by the end of November and he would have to write to Minister for Local Government, Geoff Brock to advise him council could not meet its legislative requirements.
He said the allegations had cast aspersions on his professional ability and the auditor's professional ability also.
"It's ludicrous - you have many professional relationships with many people and it doesn't stop you doing your job and it doesn't influence the decisions you make in relations to your job in any way," he said.
The CEO said the council was currently in a good financial position, after struggles in previous years.
"Due to some very prudent financial management by my predecessors, council is in a very strong financial position - we have minimal debt and we are managing our finances and providing our services at a level which the community are happy with and as cheaply and as effectively as possible," he said.
Mr Sweetman said council voted last night to offer their full support to him.
"I've been in local government for 38 years and never dealt with anything at this level before - it's very disconcerting," he said.
"It's unfortunate that this sorry episode has chewed up a lot of resources on a lot of baseless claims.
"Council's time and effort would be better served providing services for our community."
***...(um, yeah, that's not the investigation that I was referring to?-Ed)...sorry?...(given that that's from 2014, I believe that that refers to the farcical shenanigans surrounding the $1million Marina Loan, as covered in that post from 19th February 2018-Ed)...whaaa?...(which is what the 19th February 2018 post mostly refers to-Ed)...and that post's also all the stuff about Roger Sweetman attacking and denigrating former Robe Mayor William 'Special Rules' Peden?...(yeah, that stuff, where-in 'Special Rules' refers to Roger Sweetman's actions in introducing 'rules' that allowed him to intercept Mr Peden's correspondence to Robe Council, and then presenting to Council his (Sweetman's) own version of that correspondence-Ed)...wow...(indeed, and 'Whim and Fancy' was Roger's seething on-air denigration of Mr Peden's absolutely appropriate attempts to get answers about many concerning aspects of Robe Council's conduct-Ed)...which is also Roger's agenda with the stuff about how much it's cost, etc, all that's an attack on Mr Peden...(spot on mate, a well-practised strategy/agenda of denigration, abuse, obfuscation and deliberate deceits, all aimed at avoiding discussing the actual issues, and instead attacking and undermining the credibility of the 'Whistleblower', in this instance Mr Peden-Ed)...now why does that sound so familiar?...(well because it's exactly what you have been subjected to for years now!-Ed)...yeah mate, it was a rhetorical question...
And just how many times has the Ombudsman and/or Office Of Public Integrity investigated Robe Council and/or Roger Sweetman?...(well, as best as I can tell, at least twice, and I think that that 'Auditor' bit refers to the bizarre 'Internal Audit' that Robe Council did when that $1m Marina Loan appeared to have disappeared from Council's accounts/paperwork-Ed)...when they said that it was all fine, despite the fact they needed to do an 'Audit' to find it?...(yep, before then turning 'round and stating that that $1m Loan had actually never existed in the first place-Ed)...wow, I can see why you might call that a farce...(indeed, and the OPI/Ombudsman's response was to do nuthin'-Ed)...well SA's OPI/Ombudsman is in a farce of their own...(nice one-Ed)...and of course, if the OPI/Ombudsman is involved, that means the ICAC is also involved, and in a superior capacity...(absolutely, the ICAC/OPI/Ombudsman are basically and functionally the same animal, as identified in that article above, and as we covered in that previous post-Ed)...so hang on, if this latest thing is about the Robe Marina, but isn't specifically about that $1 Marina Loan, what's this about then?...(read on dear heart-Ed)...***
SA Ombudsman Wayne Lines finds Robe Council and former CEO Roger Sweetman mishandled $296,000 marina upgrade
A
council has been found guilty of maladministration and its retired
chief executive of misconduct over their management of a $296,000 marina
project, following an investigation by the state’s public sector
watchdog.
SA Ombudsman Wayne Lines has upheld a
whistleblower’s complaint that ex Robe Council chief executive Roger
Sweetman had breached code of conduct during oversight of an upgrade of
the Lake Butler marina entrance, the cost of which later blew out by
$120,000.Mr Lines ruled the council had mismanaged public resources by failing to obtain multiple quotes for the project and had not made “meaningful inquiries” behind the marina’s cost blowout despite being informed of the need for more funds.
The marina project had an initial approved budget of $170,000 but was completed in December 2014 for $296,309 without toilets, gates or asphalting of the carpark, which were included in an original project estimate.
Mr Sweetman tendered his resignation in December at the same time the council secretly considered preliminary findings of the investigation.
The council publicly released Mr Ombudsman’s final report on April 2, the day after Mr Sweetman permanently left council, and three weeks after Mr Lines had provided the council with a copy of his report
Mr Lines found Mr Sweetman, who was employed in July 2012, had failed to seek tenders for various aspects of the marina project in breach of the council’s procurement policy.
“I understand that the CEO developed a strategy of managing the project in-house, allowing for better management of local contractors and suppliers,” he said.
“This is critical given the finding that the council did not properly apply the procurement policy.
“Although I have not quantified the possible financial overspend by the council not following the procurement policy, it is clear that the CEO had responsibility to ensure the procurement policy was applied.”
He said Mr Sweetman had breached the council’s code of conduct and had committed misconduct in public administration.
Mr Lines said the council had acknowledged it had failed to obtain the “requisite number of quotes” for “at least nine significant transactions” under the project.
“The failure to apply the procurement policy … reflects a practice or pattern of conduct resulting in a substantial mismanagement of public resources,” he said.
“Given the scale of the project and the fact that there was a failure to comply with the procurement policy on a significant number of occasions, I consider that mismanagement to be substantial.”
In a statement, published in the council’s April 9 meeting agenda, Mr Sweetman said he accepted findings that he had committed misconduct.
“I also acknowledge that I failed council in ensuring that the correct processes and procedures relating to obtaining quotations for goods and services regarding the construction of the marina entrance,” he said.
But he said he did not agree with Mr Lines’ “assumption” that the council may not have received value for money.
“I do not feel that the Ombudsman fully appreciates the difficulty in procuring goods and services with rural regional areas where the number of suppliers for certain products are limited,” he wrote.
“Both council and I acted in the best interest of the community in relation to … the project.”
Mr Lines has given the council until May 3 to report on steps it has taken to improve its policies.
***...wow...(indeed, wow, findings of "Maladministration" against the Robe Council, and "Misconduct" and/or "Code of Conduct" specifically against CEO Sweetman, relating to "mismanaged public resources", but no action to be taken it appears-Ed)...wow...(you've already said that-Ed)...sure, but I just don't know what else to say, Lines actually identifies Maladministration but there's no action...(mmm, it's all rather reminiscent of Lines' farcical investigation of Mt Gambier's former Mayor Andrew Lee, who used Ratepayer's money to travel to China where he did personal business, including involving the purchase of a South East winery-Ed)...ahhh yes, we blogged about that too...(indeed we did, including where Andrew Lee repeatedly straight-out lied about his meetings, etc, and his failure to declare his winery purchase and the resultant income, etc, etc, etc-Ed)...all proven and no action from the Ombudsman or the farcically corrupt SA ICAC...(and in the context where a deeply traumatised father of a child abused at St Martins Lutheran School, tells the truth about a farcically deceitful pseudo-investigation of Mt Gambier City Council by ICAC in 2013-14, and is then subjected to more than 3 years of openly corrupt "bizarre trial", receives a Criminal Conviction for telling that truth, and is fined $540,000-Ed)...hey, that's me...(indeed it is, another rancidly corrupt attack on the 'Whistleblower'-Ed)...yeah, and I'm gunna' have a wild stab at it and suggest that the 'Whistleblower' identified in the above article is Mr Peden, again...
Gunna' finish here and continue on this topic tomorrow, or maybe even later today, see how I go, 'cos there's been a bunch-a-stuff in the media, including a truly bizarre Letter To The Editor from the new Robe Mayor...(I'm particularly keen to 'un-pack' that timeline where-in it looks like Roger, whilst under supposed investigation, again, has been the official Returning Officer for the November 2018 Local Government Elections, and then allowed to 'resign' before this report was released and any action has been taken, etc-Ed)...well that's just the ludicrously corrupted Local Government Election Process in SA, but it doesn't look like there was ever gunna' be any 'action taken' anyway...(well quite, it's a fundamental cluster-farce, from start to finish and everywhere in between-Ed)...and there have been 'issues' with that Election process as well, but I can't imagine they'll ever get appropriately investigated...(if investigated at all-Ed)...6 of 1, half a dozen of the other...
But if you want to get this perpetual Robe farce into context, please to be accessing the South Australian Ombudsman's Report page on their website, and read the truly incoherent justification that Wayne Lines has to offer for not taking any action against the former Pt Pirie Mayor...(which is?-Ed)...yeah sure Mayor Johnson has engaged in Insider Trading and/or Conflict of Interest and/or Maladministration by awarding a Council contract to a company he works for, etc, etc, but I'm not gunna' take any action 'cos he's not running for Council again at the November 2018 elections...(seriously?-Ed)...read it for ya'self...(so, metaphorically speaking, sure I used to rob banks, but I don't do that anymore so I should be excused of any prosecution?-Ed)...like I said, read it for ya'self, it's a classic case-study in just what a joke the SA OPI/Ombudsman/ICAC is, a structure designed and functioning to protect and excuse the Institutionalised Corruption and attack 'Whistleblowers', etc...
Tomorrow: More Robe Probe Farce
A shortish post today, but lots of homework for y'all dear availees, namely, checking-out that post from 19th February 2018 about my mate Roger 'Whim and Fancy' Sweetman, and the post about Wayne Lines' farcical pseudo-investigation and bizarre exoneration of former Mt Gambier Mayor Andrew Lee...(is that Lines Clearly Defines Fine Line By Clearing Lee, of 16th January 2018?-Ed)...yep, that's the one, where-in Wayne explains that Andrew startled the "fine line" defining 'corrupt conduct' by rushing right up to it and stamping madly there abouts, but that fleet-footed Andy never actually quite crosses that line...(now that's some fancy footwork indeed-Ed)...indeed...oh, and of course there's that Ombudsman's Report about the Pt Pirie Mayor...(mate, I've read that through 3 times, and it doesn't get any less hilarious, if anything, once you realise that you're not stone-cold tripping and have imagined the whole thing, the true hilarity really sets-in-Ed)...well you've always had a rather bizarre sense of humour Ed, but I take your point that it is indeed extraordinary to the point of hilarity...
Anyhoos, I am Nick Fletcher and this here is my blog, and that there is my confected literary device Ed...(cheers y'all-Ed)...and until next post, cheers and laters...
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