Dubbo council issued with PIO

Dubbo Regional Council (DRC) has been issued a formal Performance Improvement Order (PIO), effective 29 June 2021, from the Minister for Local Government.

It follows the issuing of the order in draft form on 1 June. Dubbo Region Mayor, Stephen Lawrence said it was the Council’s intention to adhere to the Order.

“And doing so will be quite simple as council has already largely complied with the substance of the order, having received it in draft some weeks back,” Mayor Lawrence said.

“We wanted to deal with the issue quickly and are very focused on service delivery and on completing the tasks of the council before caretaker starts in just over a month,” he said.

He said Council wrote to the Minister on 15 June outlining a number of actions being taken to address the Minister’s initial ‘intent to issue a PIO’.

“We look forward to demonstrating our good faith in completing those actions, and the actions prescribed in the PIO issued today.”

“The unusual and difficult events of recent months are over and our regional community I think understands that well,” said Mayor Lawrence.

Part of the Order states that by the end of July, the General Manager must ‘review or develops a councillor request system to manage email requests from councillors that incorporates rules about the use of the councillor request system with a focus on ensuring that communications are respectful, the number of requests are reasonable and include provisions permitting the General Manager to impose limitations where disrespectful or excessive use of the system occurs’.

The Minister for Local Government has also appointed John Rayner PSM as a temporary advisor to the Council to provide advice and assistance to the council to ensure it complies with the Order.

The PIO will be tabled at DRC’s next Ordinary Meeting of Council. To read the PIO click here  (PDF 43.3KB)