ALTHOUGH some councillors at first failed to see value for money, Frankston Council has re-signed an agreement which requires it to handover $20,000 a year to the Western Port Biosphere Reserve Foundation.

At a meeting in November, Cr Alistair Wardle suggested the council not sign the proposed memorandum of understanding - a non-legally binding document which asked the five member councils to commit to making a $20,000 contribution to the foundation each year for two years and to support its aims and objectives.

Cr Wardle said the $20,000 could be reallocated to a more worthy environmental cause, adding that the foundation hadn't had "any impact on the ground" towards encouraging a sustainable environment.

"We've spent over $100,000 and we are without much to show for it. Let's stop wasting money up against a wall and let's start spending it on our environment," he said.

Cr Glenn Aitken agreed with Cr Wardle at that meeting, adding: "In council you've got to be honest. I have seen very little evidence about what the biosphere is actually doing."

Councillors acknowledged that pulling their funding could spell the end of the foundation, of which Mornington Peninsula, Casey, Cardinia and Bass Coast councils are also members.

CEO George Modrich then informed councillors that funds for 2012 had already been paid to the biosphere foundation.

Councillors voted unanimously to defer signing the MOU pending discussions with other member councils and the foundation.

On February 6, following a meeting with Western Port Biosphere chairman Rob Gell and executive officer Cecelia Witton, councillors voted without debate to delegate Mr Modrich to sign the MOU and appoint Cr Kris Bolam the council's director on the biosphere board.

Asked why councillors suddenly decided to support the biosphere, Cr Brad Hill told the Weekly: "Essentially we had people in from the biosphere who told us what they do and what they are about. We were pretty happy and satisfied with that."