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How does your council manage your money? There’s a website for that … oh, wait.
An online tool that monitors how local governments raise, spend and manage their money will remain out of date for some time, WAtoday can reveal.
Since 2012-13, the government-run MyCouncil website has laid bare local government finances with the aim of strengthening accountability and performance.
Perth council data was once able to be directly compared, like this example from 2020-2021. Credit: Composite image (MyCouncil/Getty)
The ease and functionality of the portal meant residents could easily view side-by-side comparisons of their local government with any other in the state, or compare them across the board.
The overall financial health of each local government was also rated by a financial health indicator.
A very high or low indicator could prompt the community to ask their council questions about revenue, expenses and service delivery.
But after 2020-21, the data flow stopped and the subsequent years continue to be left blank.
A Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries spokesperson said MyCouncil was under review due to changes in financial reporting methods which impacted on the financial health indicator section of the portal.
“The work, which will consider the inclusion of new ratios, is informed by sector engagement and feedback, and is expected to take some time,” a spokesperson told WAtoday on Thursday.
“A key focus of local government reforms has been around greater transparency and accountability.
“This will strengthen local government accountability through mandatory recording of council meetings, the introduction of various online registers, and other reform measures.”
MyCouncil is not the only way residents can access this kind of data.
Data from the City of Albany in 2020-2021, the last year data was available. Credit: MyCouncil
At the end of each financial year, local governments prepare their annual reports and annual financial reports which can then be compared manually.
The difference between having the MyCouncil website and not is the ease of access of which the public can view the data via interactive charts, graphs and tables.
The spokesperson said local government performance could also be monitored through council and committee meetings, monthly financial reporting and annual electors’ general meetings.
The state’s peak representative body for local government said while MyCouncil had been a valuable asset, the sector was also subject to financial audits by the independent Office of the Auditor General.
“The OAG reports annually to state parliament on the audit performance of all local governments, with this report providing a perspective on aggregate performance across the sector together with recommendations for process improvement,” Western Australia Local Government Association state president Karen Chappel said.
“The MyCouncil website has been of value to the local government sector as a means of directing community members to an independent trusted source of comparative financial information.”
The audit report features in the local government’s annual report which is presented to the annual electors’ general meeting for public viewing.
The website is also a useful tool for comparing population and demographic data.
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