Last week the association published a highly critical opinion piece of council’s failure to effectively manage the shire’ financial affairs, in particular on the basis of the recently published audited 2018-2019 Financial Statements, which revealed an $8.92M consolidated operating deficit & a staggering $14.092M deficit in the General Fund.
As is the case with all of its opinion pieces, that particular item was posted on Facebook.
The association was surprised to note that within a day or so of its article being published, a Facebook “friend” of the association’s secretary/treasurer published the following comment below the piece:
"I am unfriending John. I can't bear the nitpicking in the middle of all the crises the council has been steering us through. Bye!”
According to the association’s advice, “nitpicking” involves fault-finding over tiny details.
So it seems that there is at least one ratepayer in the Bega Valley who is content with council’s failed financial management. Now that’s OK, but to characterise factually substantiated criticism of council’s performance as “nitpicking” is, in our view simply irresponsible, if not bizarre.
Now the association fully accepts that there are those in our community who see no problem with some of the things that council or council officials do: things that many others would see as deceptive, dishonest, improper, unethical, or worse.
We can only wonder how John’s ex Facebook “friend” felt about the council’s dishonest plan to try & scam ratepayers for $2.028M annually via its proposed Special Rate Variation (SRV), allegedly to save the shire’ pools?
We can only wonder what John’s ex Facebook “friend” would have made of the action of council’s general manager in successfully nominating the Mayor, her superior, as recipient of the Minister for NSW Local Government’s Woman’s Award?
Others might wonder if it was “nitpicking” for members of the community to take exception to being asked to cough-up $30K to fund to failed Code of Conduct Complaints by one councillor against two of her colleagues?
And would John’s former Facebook “friend” think that council’s general manager was “nitpicking” when she hired a private investigator & spent another $30K to find out how the cost of said Code of Conduct Complaints became public knowledge?
And we wonder how John’s former Facebook “friend” would feel about a councillor completing a false declaration in support of her candidacy at the last Local Government Elections?
Or would John’s former Facebook “friend” be offended by the fact council made an announcement declaring that the Mayor had been the recipient of the Governor-General’s Medal for her “leadership skills”, the only problem being was that there is no such award.
But enough of the petty nitpicking we hear you say.
To pick-up on the claim made by John’s former Facebook “friend” that she
“can’t bear the nitpicking in the middle of all the crises the council has been steering us through’”.
Well, for its part, the association can see little evidence that council is managing the shire through anything. Next week will see the three month anniversary of the height of the bushfire disaster & there has been no indication that the clean-up operation will get underway this side of June.
While there are plenty of statistics available on property losses, including homes, sheds & outbuildings, the association is not aware of any reliable information confirming the number of residents who remain homeless & looking for employment.
In the association’s view, the council has exhibited an embarrassing preoccupation with the needs of business, pursuing measures to provide financial relief, only to find that few weeks later such plans have all but been rendered useless by the reality of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the associaion acknowledges that many individual council employees have continued to step-up to the plate in support of the community’s bushfire recovery effort, it has questioned & continues to question the material value of council’s direct contribution.
The one thing that council has done is to maintain a consistent self-serving public campaign highlighting how busy it is, in particular organising & attending meetings, repeating announcements previously made by other agencies, while delivering little in the way of tangible outcomes;
“Nitpicking” indeed.
John Richardson
Secretary/Treasurer
Bega Valley Shire Residents & Ratepayers Association
Tel: 0264945669
Email: secretary@begavalleyshireratepayers.asn.au
Website: http://www.begavalleyshireratepayers.asn.au