A new proposal to allow City of Ballarat’s CEO to sign off on all international travel without it having to go through council chambers is being considered.
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Currently, all international travel is subject to a resolution voted on by councillors and a separate budget allocation.
But potential changes to the Councillor Expenses Entitlement Policy could see the city’s CEO able to sign off on overseas trips, without it having to considered at a council meeting open to the public.
The new entitlements policy also removes the requirement for City of Ballarat to publish councillor expenses online each quarter.
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Deputy mayor Daniel Moloney said the issue had come through chambers previously, with councillors voting to consider each trip on a case by case basis.
“It came to us several months ago, the options around allowing the CEO to give blanket approval for international travel. It was rejected by most councillors, so I’ll be interested to see where it goes [on May 2],” he said.
“International travel is consistently one of the main bugbears that the people raise with us as being a problem, and we have to give that some consideration tomorrow night.”
Council officers, in recommending the council adopt the new policy, stated in a report that representing the city internationally was an “important part of developing, communicating and implementing Council policy.”
Officers stated travel must be undertaken in the “most cost-effective manner”, with the standard form of travel premium economy class outside of Australia. Trips inside Australia are expected to be at economy class.
Ballarat mayor Samantha McIntosh declined to comment on the matter.
It follows a ratepayer backlash in September last year to Cr McIntosh and chief executive Justine Linley attending a board meeting for the World League of Historical Cities in Bursa, Turkey.
More than $15,000 was spent on business class flights.
Changes to the Councillor Expenses Entitlement Policy, which include the new method for green-lighting international travel, will be voted on by councillors at the May 2 ordinary meeting.
According to the proposed changes, councillors attending professional development and training overseas must still get approval of council at a meeting for the cost of attending.
