New England mayors have welcomed a decision by Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig to suspend the board of the New England Weeds Authority and appoint an interim administrator.
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Mr Hoenig said he decided on immediate action after being "alarmed by reports about the financial mismanagement and governance issues" of the authority.
"The problems are of real concern, particularly given the potential impacts the financial instability of [the authority] has for its four member councils which help fund its operations," Mr Hoenig said.
The authority is financed by Armidale Regional, Walcha, Uralla Shire, and Glen Innes Severn councils. Its sole purpose is to control invasive weeds in the New England.
The administrator, local government expert John Rayner, will probe financial and operational concerns and report back to Mr Hoenig.
Walcha Mayor Eric Noakes and Uralla Shire Mayor Robert Bell both welcomed the appointment of an administrator to the weeds authority and agreed the decision had been a long time coming.
Mayor Noakes said for Walcha ratepayers, the latest concern with the weeds authority came to a head in March.
Then, the authority approached Council to act as a guarantor for a loan of $119,843, that being Walcha Council's share of a $700,000 loan spread across Walcha, Uralla, Armidale and Glen Innes. The request was refused.
Part of the loan was to fund the authority's new depot, built by Rice Constructions at the Armidale Airport precinct.
According to a report before Walcha Council, the weeds authority has been unable to borrow the money to pay for the building while also paying for continuing operational costs.
Mayor Noakes said he was furious the weeds authority had voted to accept the tender and start construction of the depot despite being warned the project needed a capital expenditure review be submitted to the Office of Local Government before the project began.
"This was not done," Mayor Noakes said.
"The councillors, the general manager and the contract chief financial officer were also warned that there were not enough current assets available to complete the project."
A subsequent, extraordinary meeting of the weeds authority with its six councillors and general manager Tim Weeks took place in April behind closed doors.
Chair of the weeds authority is Armidale Cr Dorothy Robinson, deputy chair is Uralla Cr Tim Bower. Other councillors are Troy Arandale (Glen Innes), Paul Packham (Armidale), Margaret O'Connor (Armidale) and Scott Kermode (Walcha).
On Friday, May 17, Cr Arandale said he welcomed the appointment of an administrator.
Cr O'Connor said the issue was a cash flow problem.
"This stems from an 11-month delay in state government funding," Cr O'Connor said.
Cr Robinson was not available for comment.
