A LETTER addressed to Brimbank City Council by Keilor Ratepayers Association members asking for info
Association’s president Susan Jennison last week submitted the letter to council asking why there was no public access to the workings of the trust, including no public members sitting on the committee.
Cr Eriksson, who was taken aback by the questions, said the letter implied that the trust was being “secretive”.
She added that the letter should have been sent to her instead to the council.
Ms Jennison said she was not indicating that the trust was “doing anything funny” but added that the questions were raised because the association’s members were interested in what information could be made available to the public.
In her letter Ms Jennison asks whether the trust has any annual general meetings, to which Cr Eriksson told Star there were not.
Questions asking about the rules of governance and accountability, including whether the ratepayers could view the records of the trust’s financial earnings, were also presented in the letter.
Cr Eriksson told Star the trust was holding monthly meetings and was currently being reviewed by the auditor general, which is assessing all the cemeteries that are part of Australasian Cemeteries and Crematoria Association.
“At the moment I think the current members of the trust have a lot of diverse experience and I’m quite happy with the way it’s going. But personally I believe there should be a community representation (on the trust),” Cr Eriksson said.
She added that the questions raised in the letter could be addressed directly to the trust’s information officer in Keilor East.
Last year’s resignation of former trust member Cr Ken Capar was the incentive behind the association raising the questions, Ms Jennison said.
“If everything is going alright then why did Cr Ken Capar resign from the trust?” Ms Jennison said.
A council’s spokeswoman said council would prepare a response to the letter received by the association in “due course”.
