Local legend Bob Rau lifts lid on CEO failure resulting in Rate Payers overcharged by $3 Million
It's hard to start this story without going in to Bob Rau's life story, I had the opportunity to sit down with himself and his wife at the ball court hotel in Sunbury and hear about their life journey. It is something of legendary. They embody the true spirit of what being an Australian is all about, each other.
Bob Rau is a retired engineer who supported our troops protecting our nation and while that is enough to make the bloke a legend in his own right, he didn't stop there. Bob became a union organiser in the days that were filled with organised crime and shady figures. He didn't fault there and told me stories about picket lines and battles he stood high in defending workers. He was union representative for the Australian Workers' Union.
He has continued to remain active and a fighter in his community still at his age which is commendable as many by his age would have retired. But he remains committed to ensuring the people in the community are looked after.
Now On To His Great Deed and Commitment to Residents
News first broke on Council Watch that the City Of Melton had been overcharging new home builders since 2019 to the amount of $3 Million. This error has seen already struggling families hit with increased land costs at a time the cost of living is already hurting. It is further being reported that the fiscal failure by a Government was first identified last year and council had been aware but was trying to mask the error.
But, with tax time looming the council must report the incident to the Australian Tax Office and regulators as the funds must be returned to the developers. Developers were the responsible body for passing those costs onto new land purchases and collecting the revenue for the council.
The Council was allegedly well aware of the implications it would have in the community and the trust lost by residents and rate payers. An error is acceptable if it occurs once but this is a 7 year error that no one picked up on. It also resulted in the Chief Financial Officer resigning almost 6 months ago which paints a picture on how long the council has been keeping it under wraps. A further failure of the local government act which legally requires local governments to be transparent with residents.
Super Bob
Bob Rau has long been someone who has not been happy with the CEO, Roslyn Wai as she used to be at Hume Council. Allegedly he couldn't hold it in and began telling everyone about the error and a number of people have come forward to inform everyone how Bob has been integral part in raising the alarm.
The resident thank you for raising the alarm.
The City Of Melton is still yet to notify the community and announce the fiscal failure but any City Of Melton resident who has purchased land from 2019 to 2026 should call the council or seek professional legal advice as you will need to recoup these costs.
image sources provided supplemented by Canva Pro