Perth Voice Interactive

KEEPING an eye on who’s wining and dining elected officials got a bit easier in Bayswater, with the city’s “governance portal” going online.

The site is a one-stop spot about who’s been gifted what, who traveled where, and who’s not been showing up to meetings.

The creation of many of the online registers was driven by councillors Dan Bull, Brent Fleeton and Catherine Ehrhardt.

The gifts listed recently don’t paint too much of a picture of fat cats supping: A couple of $25 luncheons here and there with Crs Bull, Ehrhardt and mayor Barry McKenna joining Amber-Jade Sanderson for a dinner at parliament house being the most recent ($50 a head, or $25 for Cr Ehrhardt since she didn’t have any plonk).

The portal also shows the fees councillors are being paid ($139,310 for the mayor, $34,764 for ordinary councillors) and the number of employees pulling in over $100,000 a year. A total of 28 staffers are making six figure sums, with eight of them coming from technical services alone, 5 in planning, 6 in finance and 7 in community services.

Attendance at council meetings and committees is also recorded.

Cr Ehrhardt says laying it all bare “shows we’ve got a true commitment to transparency”.

It’s up now at http://www.bayswater.wa.gov.au/council/governance-portal

by DAVID BELL