Toxic feuding between councillors at a country Victorian shire has prompted their sacking by state parliament.
A bill was introduced on Wednesday to dismiss South Gippsland Council following the damning findings of an investigation and a recommendation by municipal monitor Peter Stephenson, Local Government Minister Adem Somyurek said.
"There was a toxic, intractable culture that developed on that particular council, mainly driven by inter-personal disputes," Mr Somyurek told reporters.
"That affected the governance of that council and its ability to govern in the interest of the people of South Gippsland."
Administrators will run the council until October 2021, when an election will be held.
The bill will pass parliament, with the opposition backing the move.
"The place has become a circus; it's the worst example of town hall you'll see at the moment anywhere in Victoria," opposition local government spokesman Tim Smith told reporters.
However Municipal Association of Victoria president Coral Ross said the dismantling of a democratically-elected government was never the best solution.
The association will request a briefing from the minister on the process to ensure local democracy is returned to the community in a timely way, she added.
Six councillors have resigned over the past eight months in a move the state government says weakens the council's legitimacy.
An interim administrator will be appointed to give ratepayers certainty around governance and accountability.
Concurrent to Wednesday's sacking, the Victorian Auditor-General released a report after its investigation into local government fraud and corruption.
The report was based on the analysis of four councils on criteria including the use of credit cards and fuel cards, reimbursements and managing conflicts of interest.
Twelve recommendations included that councillors provide stronger evidence when claiming reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses, in particular for vehicle mileage, and that the expenses be published online.
There should also be tighter auditing of spending on credit and fuel cards.
Two councils were warned against selling or providing vehicles to staff as part of severance packages.
All the recommendations were accepted.
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