Beyond the individual claims, the documents released to The Courier under the Freedom of Information (FOI) act raise broader questions. What should councillors be entitled to? What are community expectations? How far, for how long, and for what purpose should we expect them to advocate for our city? Is there enough scrutiny and transparency with the spending and its outcomes?

The first point is that no sensible councillor is in it for the money. While the mayor's entitlement, listed as almost $107,000 in last year's annual report, is a lot to most people (although it is nowhere near what council executives receive), most councillors receive a total allowance of $33,490.74. One councillor told The Courier they would earn almost as much flipping burgers in the same time they spent leafing through council reports.

READ THE FOI DOCUMENTS IN FULL AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE

The documents do raise, however, legitimate and serious concerns over how ratepayers' money is spent and the scrutiny surrounding that. If residents are footing the bill for councillors to replace their iPad pens, fill their fruit-bowls and drink their morning coffees - not to mention to stay in a five-star hotel, as revealed by The Courier earlier this week - then how carefully are other areas being scrutinised?

It is useful to compare expenses elsewhere. Councillor claims in Ballarat have been significantly higher than in the past two financial years for their counterparts in Geelong (the municipality had no councillors for 18 months before then). At around $1,200 more per councillor per year, it may be a drop in the overall budget of more than 200 million dollars - but perhaps instructive of a broader approach to how money is spent.

For Bendigo, the costs are similar to Ballarat's taken over all the past four financial years - but these are skewed largely by a huge year of expenses in Bendigo in 2016/17. In the past two years, it has been a very different story with councillor expenses in Ballarat totalling $19,845.87 and $20,514 more than their Bendigo counterparts in 2018/19 and 2019/20 respectively.

The Courier also understands many expenses relating to Ballarat council have not been listed in the documents released under the Freedom of Information - and may lie within the budget for mayor and councillor support.

Some councillors - particularly of the old school - take the line that the councillors' allowance should cover most costs. Crs Mark Harris and Grant Tillett follow that example. However, as it stands, councillors can claim costs beyond that allowance in a process governed by the City of Ballarat's expenses policy. Under that, costs incurred are approved at the CEO's discretion. As the sole employee of councillors, a CEO faces a serious challenge without transparent guidelines - they are effectively signing off their own bosses' expenses.

So is Ballarat's policy clear enough? There is no guideline for the type of hotel that should be used, no cap on the overnight allowance (unlike for Federal representatives). There are also no clear parameters on when overnight stays in Melbourne are appropriate. Some more frugal councillors make the point they simply prefer to return to Ballarat if they go to Melbourne on council business.

Other observers have dismissed the criticism of the hotels used - the most frequently stayed in is the five-star Sofitel - with one saying council would get "ripper" rates, and that it is near to Spring Street. But those discounts are available elsewhere. What's wrong with a Travelodge? Or a Mercure at a push? Nitty gritty detail perhaps, but given the straitened times many are now facing, it is more relevant than ever.

Former mayor and council officer John Barnes certainly thinks so. He told The Courier: "Some... costs are way out of whack with community expectations. At the end of the day, councillors are accountable for what they and the organisation does."

The documents also add weight to calls for full transparency. If they can be released line by line under the Freedom of Information act, is there any impediment to publishing them routinely? It might be a deterrent to some spending if sunlight falls on the detail as a matter of course.

Not everyone can wear the hair shirt like Crs Harris and Tillett - and there is no doubt Ballarat residents should expect council and staff to advocate strongly for the city beyond its borders. Four-time Ballarat mayor Judy Verlin - who retired from council in 2012 - described this as "an absolute obligation".

"[Ballarat] is a major contributor to the Victorian economy and one of the fastest growing regional centres in Australia," she said. "We need to look outside of our borders and be able to make sure we are relevant on the national scale."

"I don't think that council should have a fence around Ballarat - in fact, I think the exact reverse"

Mr Barnes strikes a slightly more cynical note, saying that Spring Street and Canberra visits "can be useful but often aren't."

"Too little preparation or open debate in the council chamber means that some ill-considered proposals are proposed."

He suggests peak bodies such as the Municipal Association of Victoria and VLGA might be better placed to lobby on councils' behalf - or the regional alliances when the issue is more localised.

On a wider level, Ballarat council is certainly not the only regional municipality where councillors travel abroad. The City of Greater Bendigo outlined trips to Timor Leste, Italy, New Zealand and China in this past council term.

John Barnes is again sceptical here, however, dismissing many overseas trips as "expensive PR exercises, and sometimes vanity projects."

"Sponsoring officers to do exchanges and study tours seems a far better investment for the organisation, than a part-time councillor doing the same," he said.

However, Ms Verlin said as mayor she would travel internationally if the reasons stood up. She highlighted the city's long-standing relationship with sister city Inagawa in Japan, but said the reasons could go beyond that: "Ballarat is a big city now. If we are looking at the big issues such as waste management, we've got to go and see what's best practice. It all gets back to trust and being open and transparent... with the community."

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The luxury five-star Melbourne hotel where Ballarat councillors stay

Ballarat's councillor expenses outstrip those of Geelong and Bendigo, from coffee to charities

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

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