Dear Ratepayers and Residents
I have not posted for a few weeks due to a nasty flu. The good news is that I am back.
This evening I attended the FPOL committee meeting. As an elected member my job is to probe on behalf of ratepayers and residents the city’s recommendation; “Tender for Walyalup Civic Centre – Managing Contractor."
https://www.fremantle.wa.gov.au/.../FPOL%20Agenda%20...
I support in principle the necessity to keep the project moving to completion. However, it does not mean scrutiny and oversight should be any less because we are in a tight corner.
The managing contractor CDI are mostly known for their fit-out expertise and not as a builder of size for a large project.
The city’s financial checks on CDI’s background capability and financial capacity are lacking. The city reports that an online credit check was conducted. An online credit check does not give me confidence given the Pindan experience.
My preference is to review the draft contract and full legal advice to assess the risks which is not included in the recommendation.
The contractor is getting $208,000 to help and assist the City. I hope they will do much more than just help and assist. In my 25 years in human resources, I am yet to see a job description with the title “Helper”.
The contract is for 4 months or until practical completion – this is open ended. Financial contracts ought to have start and end dates with penalties clearly spelt out for non-performance.
It is not good enough for the risks to be reported to the Audit and Risk Committee after the contract award. This scrutiny should happen before any decision otherwise the committee functions more like a “rubber stamp”.
There is too much discretion given to the CEO. Item 1 on page 9 states a lump sum of $208,600 for a period of 4 months. In Item 2 there is an option to extend the contract. How much extra will this cost us?
The city’s positive reporting on the progress of the civic centre reminds me of the positive reporting of the financials throughout the year. I discovered the true state of the financials when I reported an $8.5m loss for Y20/21. What a surprise to the ratepayers and residents and to the Audit and Risk Committee.
After this experience my confidence in the city’s reporting is still on life support. A full recovery is possible but only if there is a timely transfusion of transparency and honesty.
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