Two former mayors are saying that without the evidence being before them they are skeptical of the claims made by Mayor Neil Reilly and Council’s CEO Jane Stroud about the $118 million hole in Council’s balance sheet (Budget reveals Blue Haven's missing millions).

Both believe it is related to the desire to build a case to sell Blue Haven.

Brian Petschler says you can’t look at liabilities without looking at assets.

“The residents should rest easy the money is not missing,” he said.

“I’d like to stress that; the residents should note their money is not missing but it’s held in bricks and mortar rather than in cash.

“The process of using reserves for the expansion of Blue Haven has occurred in the past.”

He is keen for more information to be released to enable a fair assessment of the situation.

“I think the reporting is skewered to moving straight to a sale of Blue Haven,” he says.

As to the separation of the accounts, Mr Petschler says that in his time, while there was a global accounting system, it was easy to separate out the Blue Haven figures.

“We had auditors that said that it was fine.”

Sandra McCarthy agrees that assets might not be valued as they should be, and sees it all as being linked to a desire to sell Blue Haven.

“A budget isn’t all about cash, it is about the value of the assets as well," she said.

“I don’t think there should be any commentary on the sale of Blue Haven until the reports requested by the amended motion are sought and options [to sell, hold, lease or joint venture] are explored.”

Both are calling for more information to be released.

Former General Manager Michael Forsyth says loan licence agreements are able to be used for expansion and development.

"I can only speak for my time, but I don't believe there are any holes as statements were prepared by accountants and approved by auditors - the State Auditor or a very reputable auditing firm," he said.

"I am not aware of any of those reserves being used for operational purposes [during his time]. They were used for capital expansion or development, including Bonaira and Stage 5. That is how retirement villages operate."

When told of these criticisms, Mayor Neil Reilly said, "My feeling is that the information that I have received is accurate and that I have an obligation to try and fix a very, very difficult situation. Others may believe what they like. They can feel free to GIPA any information they feel is incorrect. On behalf of our community and our councillors that represent them, we have undertaken to remedy this situation."

Editor’s note: I reported on the issue after having spoken in length with the Mayor and CEO, with the assistance of an independent financial interpreter. They were clear that the use of the money has simply not been accounted for.

Without being privy to the information in the Forensic Review, and other investigations, the community can only rely on what is being released by Council as being a true assessment of the situation. This is particularly given the involvement of the Office of Local Government, the Auditor’s Office and accounting consultants, and the duty of public officials not to mislead the public or elected representatives.