Newly elected Councillor Mark Croxford says he has been given information that Kiama Council is at serious risk of ministerial suspension and the appointment of an administrator for possible maladministration and financial mismanagement concerns.

"I am confident in the accuracy of the information that has been given to me," says Mr Croxford.

“Since 2016, something has gone seriously wrong with the financial management of Kiama Council and we need to get to the bottom of it and chart a course for correction before the matter is taken out of Council’s control and handed over to a NSW Government appointed administrator.”

The Bugle has contacted Council's CEO Jane Stroud and been told that a full public statement will be issued later today on the matter.

"I am extremely disappointed about this method of communication when the new council has yet to be briefed, and a whole induction program is planned," says Ms Stroud.

Mr Croxford will be speaking to the other newly elected councillors today about the details of the situation, which he heard about a couple of days ago.

“These matters were hidden from the public during the last Council election. This was an outrageous cover-up and our local residents have every right to know the true financial sustainability of our Council,” he says.

At the first meeting of Council tomorrow, where the new councillors will be sworn in and a mayor will be elected, he will not be supporting any of the re-elected councillors for the role.

"Given the information I have been provided, I will be asking my fellow councillors to act in the best interest of the residents, ratepayers and business owners across the municipality and elect a fresh leadership team who come to the roles with no baggage. Repeating these same mistakes risks our community ending up without our own elected leadership.

“Should any re-elected councillors nominate for either leadership role I will not be voting for them, and if necessary abstain from any vote involving them at this time."

It is understood that Kathy Rice, Neil Reilly and Matt Brown, all returning councillors, will be standing for Mayor.

With Mr Croxford abstaining, this would leave just eight votes to be counted. If a tie resulted, the position would be decided by pulling a name out of a hat.

He will not rule out running for mayor himself.

"I will talk to my colleagues - they need to tell me whether they want me," he says.

"I think it should be someone from the new group, because we come to the table with no baggage. There are some very good and talented people who are joining the council."

Mr Croxford believes it is the time to face the issues, rather than follow the head in the sand strategy of Central Coast Council which resulted in administration.

"Such is the seriousness of this, we can't afford to hide. We need to be in the open and take the community with us. It is a journey we need to be on together.

"By demonstrating to the Minister and Office of Local Government that we are taking crucial and considered action it could help to buy us some time. We don't want it to be taken out of our hands."

To this end, he will be calling for an extraordinary meeting to:

a) Move a Notice of Motion instructing Council’s CEO to initiate an external forensic audit of council’s finances covering the sixty-three (63) month period of the previous council, to determine why Kiama Council is potentially vulnerable to ministerial suspension and any recommendations arising, with the findings of the forensic audit to be made available to the public once considered by Council, and

b) Seek council’s support to instruct the Council’s CEO to prepare a report for councillors consideration to approve new terms of reference of the recently appointed Finance Advisory Committee to enable the committee to:

• Review Council’s Long Term Financial Plan and strategies that deliver financial objectives to Council
• Develop and review action plans aimed at delivering financial performance
• Review service levels ensuring sustainable resourcing
• Review and monitor Council’s financial performance
• Review and investigate opportunities proposed by Council officers or other committee members.

"It is unacceptable that the Finance Committee does not yet have its terms of reference agreed," he says.

"If we delay, that will mean they won't be able to start their work until March at the earliest."