Keys to the City honours presented to pop star Robbie Williams at a free concert have prompted a review into the process of how the symbolic gong is awarded.
Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece thanked the British singer for filming his 'Better Man' biopic in the city and handed him a key that "opens up every door" during a performance at Federation Square in January.
It was the first time the award had been presented since 2018 and prompted a review that recommended clarity around the decision-making process and better communication with councillors.
The updated guidelines are due to be put to a council meeting on Tuesday, the same day as three councillors raised concerns in The Age newspaper.
The movie's distributor Village Roadshow Films requested the council give Mr Williams the award, a council spokesperson confirmed.
Public documents show former Village Roadshow Group chairman John Kirby donated $10,000 to Mr Reece's election campaign, which raised a total of more than $950,000.
"John Kirby is neither a director of Village Roadshow Pty Ltd or involved with the management of the Village Roadshow Group," a spokesperson for Village Roadshow said.
"Roadshow Films had no knowledge of a donation from John Kirby."
Speaking to ABC Radio, Mr Reece said the donation from Mr Kirby was public but admitted communication with other councillors could have been better.
"There hasn't been a connection between John (and Village Roadshow) for a number of years now, he is no longer involved with that business and so given he is not involved with that business there is no conflict to disclose," Mr Reece told the broadcaster on Tuesday.
"It just actually doesn't stack up... its a false story, it's an Age (newspaper) fever dream, it's a load of nonsense."
Mr Reece said he wasn't aware how much the City of Melbourne contributed to the concert but that it was co-funded by Federation Square and Mr Williams donated his time.
The award was organised while the council was in caretaker mode in the lead up to 2024 local government elections, the mayor said.
"My read... of the comments in the newspaper today was some councillors expressing, how do I put this, some grumpiness that they weren't given more notice about the keys to the city being awarded to Robbie Williams," Mr Reece said.
"That's got nothing to do with the donations, it was just about them being notified that he was going to receive the keys to the city and, look, the truth is we probably could have done that better."
Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell said the review should renew calls for donation reform and the need for a "major integrity overhaul".
The Keys to the City award recognises contributions to the city or honours outstanding achievements, with previous recipients including Melbourne-raised singer Olivia Newton John, Barry Humphries' character Dame Edna Everage and US boxer Muhammad Ali.
'Better Man' was filmed primarily in Melbourne at Docklands Studios and was the biggest production in the state's history, creating 3000 jobs, according to the Victorian government.
