A NEW grants policy outlined by the City of Whittlesea was adopted at its first council meeting of the new year last Tuesday night.
The rewritten policy targets fraud control in grant processes, with alignment of the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) principles, including individual evaluation of each grant, addressing excluding councillors from grant assessments and enhancing process where there might be a conflict of interest.
The new grants policy will also support year-round funding which can help target specific or emerging community needs, demonstrating a commitment to locals, community groups, not-for-profit organisations and businesses.
The policy was designed to provide equal access for all residents and businesses in the City of Whittlesea.
In moving the motion, Councillor Jarrod Lappin said he hoped there would be more grants produced.
“It’s concise, it reads well,” he said of the policy.
“I think our grants program at Whittlesea is fantastic, the level of support these grants offer our community is massive, and it allows for a great diversity of programs and events that reflect our residents.
“It also provides central support for our CFA and SES and our neighbourhood houses, which I know, especially Mernda Neighbourhood House, do interesting work that brings people together in positive ways.
“I hope this new policy sees a lot more grants coming through.”
Cr Blair Colwell outlined how grants would be supported through this new process.
“It’s important to acknowledge that this policy is underpinned by the VAGO report which sets our best practice in terms of how we do a grants process,” he said.
“In addition to the policy there will be a set of guidelines that support how we assess the grants and have additional layers of governance and a rigour around it.
“I’d like to thank the officers for the work they’ve done in producing the policy, and I am glad and relieved to see that we are adopting best practice here in the City of Whittlesea in the way that we administer our grants process.”
Mayor Councillor Lawrie Cox said this was the strongest commitment yet from the City of Whittlesea to provide community-wide assistance.
“The City of Whittlesea’s grants policy reflects our strong commitment to supporting our diverse and growing community. We’re helping individuals, community groups, organisations and businesses deliver programs, services and events that make a real difference to our community,” he said.
The motion was carried, with Crs Cox, Colwell, Lappin, Alan Lenberg, Christine Stow, Deb Gunn, Daniela Zinni and Martin Taylor voting yes, and Crs Aidon McLindon and Michael Labrador abstaining.
