Town of Bassendean ratepayers vote to reject and then accept annual report

AFTER an hour-long debate and a rescinded motion, residents eventually voted to receive the Town of Bassendean’s 2015-16 annual report at a general meeting of electors last night.

The initial motion to receive the 104-page annual report including the audited annual financial statements and auditor’s report was rejected following several “risks” relayed by Success Hill resident Don Yates.

Mr Yates proposed an alternative motion to defer the annual report until the Town’s auditors, Macri Partners, updated the risks on the community and exposure to financial risk that was passed 8-9.

Corporate services director Michael Costarella said the auditor’s report was solely based on financial transactions that the Town had made.

“(Macri Partners) are not engineers, they are not there to assess walls but financial transactions,” he said.

Deputy mayor Mike Lewis, who chaired the meeting, said Macri Partners looked after more than half of the councils in Perth.

“By us, what we are doing today is saying half of Perth councils are corrupt or misleading,” he said.

Chief executive Bob Jarvis said he had never been in a situation where an annual report was not received.

Former councillor Anne Brinkworth said she was “absolutely disgusted” and pleaded for people to think before they voted.

Another motion to rescind the decision and revert to the original motion was passed.