PLAYFORD Council has changed how the public can make requests of staff and elected members, because some residents and businesses were seen to be using them
excessively.
At a Services Committee meeting last week, elected members voted to alter the council’s Request for Service policy, which facilitates community members to apply to council to improve or provide a
service.
Councillors voted to force all future customer requests to be lodged through its website, smartphone app, over the phone or in person, against a staff recommendation to retain the existing policy.
Elected members will also not be able to respond to the submitter, with all correspondence relating to the request undertaken by staff.
During debate, Playford deputy mayor Marilyn Baker singled out community member Liam Goodrich, who ran for council during the 2018 council elections, as one of the primary reasons to make the
changes.
She said there had been “use and abuse” of the system.
“Certain people seem to have the ear of certain elected members, to the exclusion of the public and other elected members,” she said.
Cr Baker then proceeded to read a Facebook post from Mr Goodrich, which stated he had worked with Playford Mayor Glenn Docherty to promote various community concerns.
Cr Baker said the activities were on council’s maintenance schedule and “are not, in fact, responses to Mr Goodrich”.
“What is alarming to me is the perception in the community – and I’ve had correspondence to this effect – that this person is an elected member,” she said.
“It’s wasting valuable resources, with all those responses being replied (to) through our administration and I think our staff would well be put to other things.”
Mr Goodrich ran for council in 2018 for a Ward One position, but was unsuccessful, finishing fifth out of nine candidates after polling.
He has since stayed active on his Facebook page in raising concerns around community issues in the Playford region.
A report presented at the meeting revealed eight per cent of the 25,000 customer requests received in the past year were made by 10 people.
Mr Docherty defended residents who contact him with concerns, saying staff had never told him to direct them to other channels to submit requests.
“It’s appalling to think that a resident, no matter if it’s one who writes in once in 10 years or who writes in on a semi-regular basis shouldn’t get a response in some format from their elected member,” he
said.
“If that is what the elected members want, that they shouldn’t respond back to residents… then what is the point of having councillors?”
Mr Goodrich declined to comment.