Someone should have checked this one out

NOTHING upsets me more than getting something wrong in an article or a name wrong in a photograph caption because it is there for all to see and reflects on my professionalism.
And incorrect information can impact adversely on people.
When it happens it is mostly because I haven’t checked enough, was tired, or forgot to fix it.
But it is embarrassing.
There is an old saying that we all make mistakes, but we have a process and in truth most mistakes I have made shouldn’t have been made.
Likewise, for the City of Casey’s error on its rate notice, whatever the reason.
But I feel for the person responsible, whoever it might be.
Councils also have a process in their accounting systems of checks and balances, so why did Casey get its current rate assessment wrong?
Casey mayor Kevin Bradford has apologised to ratepayers for what he said was a calculation mistake that resulted in an average $10 overcharge on ratepayers.
But the Gazette last week said on Page 9 that it was believed the mistake came from a communication breakdown.
Casey acting chief executive Steve Dalton this week confirmed that theory.
The council spent more than six months working on its budget and decided to strike a rate amounting to an overall 7.9 per cent increase on the previous year.
From memory, I think it was the mayor who moved at the last minute to have this reduced to a 6.8 per cent increase, but the message didn’t filter through to people at the coalface.
Ironically, Casey ratepayers are probably being undercharged because of this lastminute reduction that came on the run without much thought beyond ‘we might lose less votes’.
It was managed by deferring planned infrastructure.
Two Casey councillors, Four Oaks Ward’s Paul Richardson and Mayfield Ward’s Steve Beardon, have for the last two or three years attacked their own council over what they claimed to be money wastage and secrecy over the council’s bookkeeping.
We had talk from Cr Richardson of suggestions made that the mayor should resign over this, and Springfield Ward councillor Michael Farley was reported as calling for the chief executive Mike Tyler to be sacked.
But, I don’t believe either should have to resign over the issue.
Let’s face it, the mistake was made because the full council voted to mess around with the figures at the last minute, so why not sack everyone?
Not just those you don’t like.
Nevertheless, you can talk all you want about mistakes and computers, and say things like we all make mistakes, but I can’t understand why there were not several checks on the process before the rate notices were printed.
Wouldn’t you think that with two hostile councillors watching for the slightest slip they would have been doubly careful?
Officers responsible for this error have handed those councillors a truckload of ammunition to use in their continual attacks.
The mistake was found by an internal review and this is encouraging, but why wasn’t the review conducted before the notices were printed?
How could senior officers let this happen?
Of all the councils in Victoria, and of all the times for something like this, Casey is the last council that should have allowed it.
This is an embarrassing mess for the council, in toto, and will be a source of joy to its critics.