5 January 2017 – Media release
Cumberland Council wants to enable its Council Rangers to deal with all unlawful activity in the area consistently and effectively. A new policy now on exhibition addresses roadblocks that rangers have historically confronted when carrying out their work, especially interference within Council.
The policy will address the way Council reviews complaints and prioritises actioning and will generally ensure that Council officers are fully informed about the best practice in dealing with individual cases and the level of appropriate enforcement action.
It will also tighten up the recording of investigations and the reasons for action taken in order to maintain accountability and transparency with the public.
Cumberland Council General Manager Malcolm Ryan endorsed the policy and explained its purpose:
“The policy on exhibition will allow our hard working rangers to carry out their work fairly and effectively across the board.
“What’s proposed makes it very clear that the Mayor, individual Councillors, or the Administrator for that matter, do not have the right to direct Council staff in their day to day duties.”
“I am conscious that this was happening across the area, not just in Auburn, and it is not acceptable. The days of `cowboy’ developers taking over local streets are over.”
“The policy will underpin a number of upcoming guidelines that will address this issue once and for all.”
“It also addresses overall conduct and raises the bar on the quality of council’s response to these issues.”
This policy is now available for residents to view and comment on.
