A Victorian council has been sacked for rampant bullying, intimidation and wasting $1.5 million in ratepayers' money.
The Victorian government moved to dismiss the Wangaratta Rural City Council, in the state's northeast and appoint an administrator, after months of infighting saw the mass departure of senior management and councillors resigning or going on sick leave.
Victorian Local Government Minister Jeanette Powell said the council had become a "toxic" environment and councillors had rejected the government's attempts to resolve the situation over the last nine months.
"The Rural City of Wangaratta Council has failed to meet its legal obligations to provide a safe workplace by allowing a culture of bullying and intimidating behaviour among some councillors towards staff to grow, impacting on staff well-being and leading to a large number of staff resignations," she said.
The government's decision followed advice and recommendations from a number of authorities and an independent evaluation that concluded the council be dismissed.
Ms Powell said dismissing an elected council was a last resort, but the failure of councillors to address the problems had forced the government's hands.
She said if the council was not removed, there was likely to be further staff resignations, absences and waste of council resources.
Aside from councillors going on sick leave, quitting or refusing to participate in some areas of council business, the chief executive and entire corporate management team quit.
Ratepayers' funds have also been wasted on councillor dispute procedures, Councillor Conduct Panels, legal fees, staff departures and temporary replacement staff.
The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) criticised the move, saying there must be a better way to deal with problems in local governments.
President Bill McArthur said the issue at Wangaratta involved a range of long-standing and protracted behavioural issues by individuals.
"This outcome highlights the need for the minister's current governance and conduct review to examine a broader range of options that allows for a more tailored solution, depending on the particular circumstances," he said.
A bill will be introduced into parliament on Wednesday to dismiss the council and administrators will run the council until the next elections in October 2016.
