Curious and frustrated various business people asked the Mayor and GM to provide the CBD business community with an update on what’s happening with the City Heart Project.
They also asked if it was possible to have a confirmed start date and a schedule of works that council plans to do on the CBD?
If this information isn't available yet why might that be so?
Not only CBD businesses need to know if something is actually happening its all of Launceston's ratepayers because its certain that much of the costs will fall to ratepayers. Most worrying is the fact that in the long term its bound to be an impost long after the current mayor and GM are but faint memories.
That's a bit of a worry!
The Mayor's Office has come back with the following information in regard to the CITY HEART PROJECT:
- Council has allocated $2.2M in the 2014/15 budget for works associated with the City Heart Project;
- $3M has been allocated in the 2015/16 capital improvement program; and
- a further $5M expected to be funded by grants.
Furthermore:
- Planning work to present the comprehensive level of information will include a detailed community consultation process;
- There is a need for strong public support for the projects that form the basis of the City Heart Project;
- Accordingly all this requires a level of detailed evidence base, projects specification and costing is required before any consideration is given by government to provide funding.
So on the face of it there is money allocated in the 2014/15 budget (unexpended?) to deliver whatever. Sadly the Mayor of GM do not seem to be able to describe what the whatever might be. Nor does it seem that they can deliver to the ratepayers a business plan for the project. Why might this be so?
Very worryingly this whole project is based on more government grants, $5million worth, for which it would appear that no application has yet been made. The information to do so does not seem to be there. Nobody, least of all the Mayor or General Manager, seems to be thinking about what the cost of this 'fly-in' money is going to be down the track.
With all this in mind the question hanging there is, how can Council expend $2.2million before July without a plan? If there is a plan where is it?
Then comes the question about the 2015/16 capital works budget for which it seems there is no plan yet. Then come a whole lot of questions about the getting of, and the wisdom behind the getting of, $5million of fly-in money.
As for the community consultation talked about, how come we are at this point asking these questions now with end of the financial year but a few months off?
If all this looks rather strange and implausible perhaps the Mayor and General Manager can share their wisdom with the Aldermen and the ratepayers!
1 comment:
These people couldn't manage to find a way out of a wet paper bag! Their all sitting on their fat salaries doing as little as possible. They need to be introduced to the real world and kicked off the gravey train.
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