TO AMALGAMATE OR NOT

Councils ... IT IS very interesting to see an Alderman speaking out on council amalgamations in The Examiner. Alderman Ted Sands makes an excellent case for proactive council amalgamations and the evidence he presents is rather compelling. Realistically, Tasmania doesn’t need more than one local government ‘council’ but how that might look demands close community engagement. In truth, however, it may be a bridge too far to go to a single council for Tasmania’s 500,000 people, albeit that it works well elsewhere. Consequently, consideration probably needs to be given to say just five, mirroring the current state and federal electorates. The fiscal savings to be made, and the social advantages to be won, from a radical reimagination of local government are enormous. There is no imperative to have the three tiers of government structured and administered precisely as Tasmania currently does. However, getting councilors and aldermen, general managers and so on to see the benefits relative to their constituencies will be more than difficult. Their losses will be their constituents’ wins and gains. No matter what, there will be plenty of work for the efficient, effective and accountable representatives and administrators. In the meantime the state government could put all of Tasmania’s councils into administration and build from there. — RAY NORMAN, Trevallyn

Amalgamation 18/02/15 ... HERE we go again having inane conversations about amalgamation. It will never happen unless the Local Government Minister Peter Gutwein exercises his authority to bring about change. The 29 mayors and 200 plus councillors and aldermen will do everything to prevent this from happening (except some). Victoria went from 274 councils to 78 or thereabouts, they simply got in with the job of streamlining local government. Jeff Kennett is to be applauded for having the courage and will to force change. Will it happen here? No, because the government is protecting the leather seats they sit on, it is politically unpalatable for a government to do so in this state. Where to from here? We will have these 'conversations' that will go nowhere and at the end of the day the general comment will be something like, "Oh well we tried, but we could not general consensus”. Think about this, in the Northern region; eight councils, eight general managers, total salaries about $2 million. Then you have all the duplication of engineers, finance directors, governance directors and so it goes on. Millions of dollars frittered away simply because no one will make a decision. — TED SANDS, Launceston City Council alderman. 

Council amalgamation Nov. 10, 2014 ...  THE current debate re council amalgamation is no simple affair. See your ad here May I suggest the debate moves from council amalgamation to council reform. Local government administration is a business and no Tasmanian business can afford 29 branch offices. Even wealthy banks can't. The problems that are inherent within local government can't be fixed by simply joining neighbouring municipalities. Our small state must capitalise on all assets and resources, and this requires critical restructuring of the whole of local government enterprise including management, representation, purpose and responsibilities. Many councils are unsustainable with their boundaries established in previous centuries. We should begin reform with a blank map of the state, initiate proper consultation facilitated on proven business models and establish viable areas of local governance respecting the lifestyle and business needs of all stakeholders. More state and federal funds will be required to meet the replacement of ageing infrastructure and the extra responsibilities of local government from its original purpose, thus making the need for reform on the basis of a whole state approach critical rather than just tweaking at the edges. — GRAEME NEILSEN, George Town.

Mergers on the table By CHRIS CLARKE Nov. 29, 2014, .... MAYORS and council general managers will meet in early February to discuss the possibility of local government amalgamation. Statistics revealed by the Australian Property Council last week showed that three in four Tasmanians — out of 1000 surveyed — were for the amalgamation of councils. Seventy-four per cent of people said 29 councils were too many for a state population of 510,000. Similarly, 74 per cent of people said 263 councillors and aldermen were too many for the state’s population. Seventy-four per cent of people agreed that councils would save money if they were to merge. Following the result, Local Government Minister Peter Gutwein yesterday announced the state government’s intentions to take the discussion forward. ‘‘We know from informal discussions that there is an appetite for structural reform in local government to deliver improved services to communities,’’ he said. The Treasurer believes distinct guidelines need to be followed if a voluntary reform is to succeed, however. ‘‘Amalgamations must be in the interest of ratepayers, improve the level of services for communities, preserve and maintain local representation and ensure that the financial status of the entities is strengthened,’’ he said. See your ad here Australian Property Council Tasmanian executive director Brian Wightman believes that a fear of job losses is preventing the amalgamation from happening. ‘‘You’re basically asking local government to reform itself,’’ he said. ‘‘What actually will occur is that positions will reduce, which is a concern to those still in those positions. It seems to be very heavily supported by the public, but when it comes to political will it’s very difficult.’’ Mr Wightman said he hoped a decision on local government amalgamation would be reached by the 2018 council and state elections. Local Government Association of Tasmania president Barry Jarvis said he supported any discussion of an amalgamation, both as LGAT president and Dorset Mayor. ‘‘We (Dorset) are vulnerable (to amalgamation) due our huge reliance on grants,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve always said that. Fifty per cent of our funds come from grants and 50 per cent comes from ratepayers. If there’s any change in that, it means we have to go back to the ratepayers and ask for more, and we just can’t do that. ‘‘It’s very interesting times. But it doesn’t really surprise me.’’

Time to merge July 7, 2014, ...  IT WAS indeed refreshing to read Brighton Mayor Tony Foster's comments and his thoughts on the very subject that causes many in local government to run for cover and remain in denial. See your ad here Tasmania is overrun by local government - 29 mayors, 29 general managers, 29 senior engineers and the list goes on. Until we, as local government members stand up and demand that the Minister for Local Government instigate change by way of amalgamation as soon as possible then nothing will change. Cr Foster's words that both sides were "gutless" is totally correct. Too many mayors are hiding behind the mantra of "losing identity" instead of being honest and saying "I need to protect my patch forever against incursion, I need to protect my fiefdom at all costs against those who want change, that is the harsh reality". The government will not change the status quo, because it is simply politically unpalatable to do so. We lack leadership in government, and we lack the fortitude within local government to insist on change. - TED SANDS, Alderman, Launceston City Council. 

Amalgamation May 28, 2014, ...  IT is truly amazing to read the comments on amalgamation (The Examiner, May 22) from the former minister for local government Jim Cox. Unfortunately, I believe there was a lack of passion to drive home the need to rationalise the 29 councils in this state. If you do not succeed the first time, then try again to convince your cabinet colleagues that this needs to happen, it is called leadership and believing in what you are hoping to achieve. Unfortunately there is one underlying root cause that determines the outcome, and that is political survival by individuals. The amalgamation discussions last came to a head in 1998, since then there has been no positive action by any local government minister to overhaul local government. The current Minister for Local Government needs to stand up and make the executive decision and bring about the change, waiting for local government to initiate same is foolhardy in the extreme. Millions of dollars are frittered away as illustrated in Matt Maloney’s column (The Examiner, May 23) through the duplication of highly paid executive salaries across many councils, which in my view, is wasteful in the extreme. — ALDERMAN TED SANDS, Launceston City Council

Council amalgamation Nov. 11, 2014, ... A GREAT deal of media coverage has been given to the fact that Tasmania is over-governed (both at state and local level) in relation to the size of our population. See your ad here To date while there has been discussion on reducing the number of state public servants, a reduction in the local government sector has not been addressed. Residents in Launceston for example are administered by three different councils, each with their own administrative bodies and infrastructure. Surely one council could easily handle the relatively small population of the greater Launceston and Tamar regions. If the matter of council amalgamation is left to individual councils to manage, vested interest will ensure it never happens. The state government needs to manage the process to decrease local government cost and improve efficiency by directing a series of amalgamations based on logical geographical criteria. To ensure this is a popular move, the savings should be passed back to ratepayers in the form of reduced rates and to commence the process a study on what long term savings could be possible should be commenced immediately. — M. CAMPBELL-SMITH, Launceston.


Burr slams `amalgamation agenda' By PETER SANDERS Nov. 28, ...  THE Launceston City Council and The Examiner were heavily criticised at last week's Dorset Council meeting. See your ad here Scottsdale resident and former Lyons Liberal MHR and West Tamar Council Mayor Max Burr accused the newspaper and the council of running an amalgamation agenda that would benefit Launceston to the detriment of smaller, neighbouring councils. Cr Burr gave an impassioned address in the time allotted for public deputations. ``I understand that the current inquiry into local government will look at two things - the number of elected members on each council and the amalgamation issue that has been floated in the press for some time,'' Cr Burr said. ``In relation to the number of elected members, I consider the minimum number to be nine, given the number of councillors appointed to numerous community boards and bodies - there also has to be a sufficient number of councillors to form an effective council committee system. ``In relation to the amalgamation issue, I have been appalled by the campaign that's been conducted by The Examiner Newspaper. ``In my view (its) campaign has been nothing more than a campaign to try and make Launceston a larger and more influential council. ``It gives no thought at all to the smaller councils or the country councils.'' Strengthening Northern Tasmania Development was another thing that would help to improve the efficiency of councils in the North, Cr Burr said. ``NTD has been disgracefully undermined by the Launceston City Council in the past for their own self-interest,'' he said. See your ad here Launceston City Council Mayor Albert van Zetten said that he did not wish to comment on the debates that took place around other council tables. ``But from my perspective as Launceston Mayor, I do like to see discussion of the amalgamation and reform issues,'' Alderman van Zetten said. ``At times, I expect it will be a heated discussion, which is fine. ``They are complex issues, but I don't think councils should be afraid of exploring them - it should all be on the table, because we want to hear what the public has to say. ``At the end of the day, they are who we represent.''

Amalgamations April 9, 2013, .... AMALGAMATION wouldn’t necessarily mean rates drop but it would mean that you got more value for your dollar in terms of economy of scale and no doubling and tripling up of elected or staff positions. For some time I have been advocating a Northern council comprised of Launceston, Meander Valley and West Tamar with areas of the Northern Midlands and George Town councils as well. The council area would have an airport, a seaport and approximately 140,000 people with one mayor, 10 councillors and one general manager, as opposed to the current situation of five mayors, 45 councillors and five general managers. The huge majority of the people in this area rely on Launceston for their education, their work, their recreation, their services, venue use for sport and culture, refuse disposal and the like, so it’s a seamless transition. Councils in other states this size work very well and ratepayers get more value for money because there isn’t unnecessary duplication. — ROB SOWARD, Launceston City Council alderman

City boss slams amalgamation report By PATRICK BILLINGS July 19, 2012, ... LAUNCESTON City Council general manager Robert Dobrzynski has launched a scathing attack on a local government report discouraging amalgamations, recommending aldermen ``reject '' it at Monday's meeting. The report by Professor Brian Dollery recommends councils should share services instead of merging, arguing amalgamations almost always fail to deliver lower rates and charges. The report was commissioned by Northern Tasmanian Development, an organisation consisting of the eight northern councils of which Launceston City Council is the biggest financial backer. Mr Dobrzynski said the report ignored the reality of local government in the North including what he described as the major impediments to Launceston's economic development under multiple councils. ``This alone is a damning indictment on the inadequacies of the report,'' he said. ``The report appears to be little more than a cut and paste by the author from previous work . . . it pursues his penchant for broad-scale resource sharing as the panacea to all the ills of the current anachronistic 20th century local government framework in Northern Tasmania. '' Professor Dollery told this month's Local Government Association of Tasmania conference that resource sharing would only lead to modest savings, if any, and real reform must include guaranteed funding streams from the state or federal governments. But Mr Dobrzynski said the report had achieved its ``purpose of ensuring that no meaningful reform occurs''. Mr Dobrzynski said the report would ``provide succour to those councils within the region seeking to assume the ostrich position to do nothing, conveniently avoiding the reality of the state and region's circumstances''. See your ad here Mr Dobrzynski said it was astounding that the report did not mention the ``inequity of 65,000 rate payers within the Launceston City Council area continuing to fund . . . facilities enjoyed by 106,000 people'' in the city and more in the region. He also accused Professor Dollery of highlighting failed forced mergers when there were more successful endeavours in Victoria and New Zealand. 

Councils should be halved: Cox By BREAKING NEWS By BARRY PRISMALL March 20, 2011 ... FORMER local government minister Jim Cox believes Tasmania should have no more than 15 councils, if someone had the courage to do it. A veteran local government minister of five years, Mr Cox said he tried to push for amalgamation, and in private discussion with councillors he had some encouragement. He is the second former Labor government minister to call for the number of councils to be cut. "I would think you could comfortably halve the current number (29). I had some work done on modelling," Mr Cox said. "At one meeting a councillor said to me `but a lot of people in our region read different newspapers and drink different beer'. I just sat there and cried for 15 minutes," Mr Cox said. "At least look at it. The reality is they won't be sustainable in the future. The 29 councils we have are far too many, but it was Labor Party policy that we not enforce amalgamation on them. "Amalgamation is inevitable. It only needs the courage of someone to do it. "There will be forced amalgamation ultimately, and they (councils) won't like it. Resource sharing and power sharing is not the answer. In the end you still have 29 councils and the same number of staff. "You have to sit down and look at the benefits. It is better to have one body to represent a region, rather than individual councils. You could still have representation of local areas through the old ward system." See your ad here Outgoing Derwent MLC and treasurer Michael Aird last Thursday said Tasmania had too many councils and called for compulsory voting to be introduced to council elections. "Local government needs to change to ensure it continues to be relevant in the future and delivers services at a reasonable cost," Mr Aird said. Local Government Association of Tasmania president Barry Easther yesterday said Mr Cox tried to push amalgamation, but there were never meetings held for the purpose of debating amalgamation.. "You have to identify the problem and if there would be savings in reducing the number. If there would be benefits in amalgamation you have to identify them and look at them, but you won't get savings out of a few less staff," Mr Easther said. He said former premier David Bartlett presided at a local government council forum to look at various reforms, but ultimately the plan was abandoned because of costs. Mr Cox said the councils that have looked at amalgamation include Break O'Day, Glamorgan-Spring Bay, Sorell Council, Dorset, Waratah- Wynyard, George Town and West Tamar. "People like (Glamorgan-Spring Bay) Mayor Bertrand Cadart and (Break O'Day Council) Mayor Robert Legge - they had the courage to look at it," Mr Cox said. 

Councils, museums and art gallery audit report and processes

See the Auditor General Report: http://www.audit.tas.gov.au/media/AGr-Volume-4-2014-15-Summary-Report.pdf

It worth reading this report to see first hand, and in context, the Auditor’s concerns. Defences will surely be mounted in regard to some critiques but it is worth reading them for yourself rather than rely upon the press. With electronic communication technologies now widely available to more people it is advisable that citizens inform themselves from source.

See the Memorandum here: http://www.audit.tas.gov.au/media/TMAG-APM.pdf

Interestingly this document flags the fact that the Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery plus other small museums and art galleries throughout the state may/will be subjected to a similar audit to that flagged for the Tasmanian Museum & Arty Gallery. Given what communities have invested in these institutions it is timely that they are audited considering some of the substandard practices evident in some. It is worth reading this document in order to understand the process and its purpose.

TENDERING FOR SERVICE PROVISION

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE STORY

Tasmania's Auditor General (AG), it seems, can see the inbuilt inadequacies of Local Government in the State. Sadly, Local Govt’s inadequacies opens otherwise intelligent and hard working people up to unwelcome speculations about their performance. Worst of all, it also shields rent seekers from close scrutiny. 

The AG’s recommendation that Council contracts for goods and service provision should be put out to tender if the anticipated expenditure is $100K or over. That can be bureaucratically circumvented by project splitting but the implied discipline is a sound notion.

The trick is pitching the dollar value at the right level. It must be said that Councils could impose their own levels below the AG’s $100K. They shouldn't need the AG to tell them!  In fact when it comes to consultancies there is a very good case for the open tender kick-in point to be $50K with the assessment being provided outside the administration. However, in reality the application of such tendering protocols will not always be easy.

Launceston presents an interesting problem that the AG does not seem to have addressed. Over time Launceston has grown to a point where it now has some very large service delivery divisions. If the AG’s tendering recommendation was applied to the so called non-core service provision there would be huge savings to be made.

For example if the management of facilities like the Aquatic Centre, the Football Stadium, plus the museum and theatre even, were put out to competitive tendering it is hard to see how there wouldn’t be savings to be made.

Rather than applying the tendering protocols within such operations there is very good case to be considered that would put the management of the entire operation out to tender. It goes without saying that such tenders would come with many conditions and safeguards relative to quality assurance, competency and security. Also, the tender periods for this class of operation.

As matters stand, the citizenry that requires civic services are billed by their provider for the delivery of service provision in an uncompetitive environment. More to the point, the services that are provided are in no real sense open to criticism and critique either. Also, rarely is there meaningful consultation with the citizenry and accountability is left to election time.

Launceston may be an extreme case but similar circumstances will apply across the State to various extremes.

Clearly the AG is seeing the need for more accountability and just putting new tendering processes in place are not, by themselves, likely to deliver the kind of outcomes the citizenry needs and should be able to expect.

YESTERDAY'S NEWS WITH MESSAGES FOR TODAY

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THIS STORY

In February 2015 this story will seem to many to have lost any shine that it might have had. With all of Launceston's fiscal problems beginning to be exposed any shine it might have had has gone. What ratepayer in an adjoining council would want to switch to Launceston with all the fiscal risks involved. Not to mention the Council's track record of unsustainable development overly ambitious civic empire building.

What has happened, and is happening, in Marysville in Victoria post their bush fires is an example of what happens when a council cannot see beyond the government gift horse and the longterm debt they create for ratepayers. In Marysville it happen quickly in Launceston it is unfolding slowly but nonetheless surely.

The time to amalgamate is now for sure but it needs to be equitable and the new Council/Councils need to be shot of the kind of past the current and past Launceston Councils have presided over.

The Amalgamation Debate That's Not Really Happening

GO TO THIS STORY HERE

 Most of us were on holidays and not reading the paper. This is yesterday's news but it was full of promise. Councils and LGAT need to be reminded that ratepayers are bleeding and the only people benefiting, it seems, are the highly paid Mayors General Managers et al all of whom are living the dwindling resources of ratepayers. Things must change and soon.

GO TO THIS STORY HERE

This was a promise made a while ago but surely with the present level of support for changes to the all too often dysfunctional, and non delivering,  Local Govt system in Tasmania on a high.

When a Council like Launceston's operates with a structural deficit of $2.6 MILLION that has to tell you something. One thing being that Tasmania's biggest councils is being poorly managed. It got the Auditor General worried apparently. Why are ratepayers so quiet?

On top of that Launceston has a Defined Benefits Superannuation Scheme. That's nice for the recipients and a worry for ratepayers. Currently, with interest rates falling this scheme's liabilities are probably growing exponentially.  

You have to ask why would ratepayers in adjoining Council want to take on the liabilities of a Council that's spent decades spending like a drunken sailor. 

Something needs to happen BUT WHAT?

COUNCILS BE AWARE

MP Andrew Wilkie takes Glenorchy council aldermen to task

ANDREW  Wilkie used a speech in federal Parliament yesterday to lash out at the ­behaviour of some aldermen on Glenorchy City Council.

The independent Tasmanian MP said some aldermen were dunderheads and accused them of a “guerilla campaign” against Glenorchy Mayor Kristie Johnston.

As revealed by the Mercury last week, the newly elected Mayor adjourned a special council meeting because the council’s general manager, Peter Brooks, had not provided aldermen with copies of a ­report they were voting on .... CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Local Government in Tasmania: Does it have a future?

There are heaps of money in Tasmania that are just waiting to be liberated. Over $700 million is tied up in 29 Local Councils who, along with an Upper and Lower house, serve a population of about 500,000. 

It is worth asking the question "why do we need 29 local governments...in fact why do we need any local governments? Can't the services that they provide be carried out more effectively, indeed more efficiently, corporately?"

Instead of amalgamating Councils into larger units, why can't we just get rid of them? 

We only need to decide what local activities are worth carrying out, then the State government could put works out to tender and have the private sector carry them out. 

Penalty clauses for failure to carry out the work, and shifting the contract to other providers provide reasonable protection. 

Local companies or individuals could carry out routine maintenance like edge clearing and mowing. Instead of Councils collecting rates – nobody would need to collect them because they'd be included in State government monies. 

The State government has the required mechanisms. The 'requirement' for hundreds of millions to be spent on routine and perfunctory administration would virtually disappear. Money that would have been locked into self-servicing Council bureaucracies could largely be diverted to local communities and businesses and/or their representative peak bodies. 

Community and area representation could also be achieved through community meetings with whatever government department was managing the contracts. Decisions could still be made by vote. 

Instead submitting to often-times ill equipped nay-saying Council planners, architects and builders could be accredited so that their work automatically complied with regulatory requirements. Some of this already happens. 

Social media and community meetings could relatively easily replace council meetings, community consultation processes. 

Those who will be missed are the producers of the reams of deliberately mind-numbing bureaucratic paperwork for tedious meetings that achieve virtually nothing. 

Those who revel in this mindless and unproductive nonsense could watch the shopping channels for a couple of hours each day instead. 

Removing Councils would: 

• Unlock the creative potential of citizens; 
• Allow local initiatives to move at a normal (as opposed to snail) pace); and 
• Lower costs of government by getting rid of the entire bottom tier. 

Tasmania is great place to test ideas like this and prove their veracity given its size. Apart from anything else this is an idea that needs to be tested as the current system is costing way too much and its broken.

Dr HJ Bauer & Dr R Barton 2014

COUNCILS: Financial Management and Accountability

Auditor General report calls on councils to get their finances in order
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/auditor-general-report-calls-on-councils-to-get-their-finances-in-order/story-fnj4f7k1-1227226021220

Mayor warns over inappropriate use of council expense accounts: HOBART Lord Mayor Sue Hickey has cracked down on her fellow aldermen’s use of ­credit cards, saying some had been using them inappropriately......?Ald Hickey, who was elected as Lord Mayor in November last year, has vowed to make the council more open and transparent ... Contacted yesterday, Ald Hickey stressed the letter was not a reflection on all aldermen. “Since I was elected, I have been keeping an account of all the expenses in the office of Lord Mayor,” she said.
“And in my role as Lord Mayor, I have been keeping ­account of aldermen as per regulations under the Local Government Act ... I noticed one or two things that concerned me.”

http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/mayor-warns-over-inappropriate-use-of-council-expense-accounts/story-fnj4f7k1-1227226174785

INVITATION: EAST & WEST CONCERT ­ Holy Trinity Cnr George & Cameron

President Xi’s Visit Inspires Chinese New Year Concert

The recent visit of President Xi, and the consequent interest in all things Chinese, has inspired Holy Trinity Church to acknowledge the onset of the Chinese New Year by presenting a New Year Concert featuring two talented Chinese musicians.

The concert, entitled, East and West will feature Chinese pipa player, Zhou Fen and violin player, Guo Xinyu. The two will present a program of traditional Chinese and Western music at a concert to be held at Holy Trinity Church on Friday 13 February at 7.00 pm.

‘Our society is now one that is truly multicultural’, said Priest-in-Charge, Warwick Cuthbertson. ‘It is a privilege for us to be able to acknowledge the richness of our cultural fabric by presenting this concert which celebrates, not only the onset of the Chinese New Year, but also interweaves music from two great cultural streams’. ‘This is an opportunity for the community to join with us and celebrate our cultural diversity in an enjoyable evening of music’, he said.

Both performers came to Tasmania to undertake degree studies at the University of Tasmania – Fen to undertake postgraduate studies in Education, and Xinyu to undertake postgraduate violin studies at the Conservatorium of Music under TSO Concertmaster, Jun Ma.

Fen studied the pipa, or Chinese lute, in her home town of Changsha under a master from the Conservatorium of Music in Tianjin. She is considered one of the foremost exponents of the instrument in Australia and has been invited to perform in venues throughout Australia including the Australian War Memorial.

Although Xinyu’s first degree is in telecommunications engineering, violin has always been her first love! She holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Tasmania and undertook further studies in London to improve her bowing technique. She now teaches violin professionally, and plays on a casual basis with the TSO. Xinyu is also a brilliant cook and caters for dinner parties when not absorbed by her music.

The concert will be followed by supper in the Narthex of the church. Entry is by donation and the proceeds will by applied to restoration work that needs to be carried out on the building.

For further information contact please contact Greg Parkinson (Churchwarden) on 0409 700112 or: tas0946@bigpond.com and go to: http://www.ponrabbel.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/east-and-west-chinese-new-year-concert.html

PONRABBEL is pleased to support this event given the Chinese community's contribution to the cultural life Tamar/Esk  over a considerable time. Furthermore, this concert it is hoped will be the first of many performance events at Holly Trinity and other venues in the region. PONNRABBEL is especial interested in exploring new, collaborative and/or cooperative ways to present experimental and cultural diverse events in the Tamar/Esk region. Please contact us if you have something in mind.

Ray Norman: Secretary, Institute & PONRABBEL Steering Committees
WEBsite: http://tamarinstitute.blogspot.com/

WEBsite: http://ponrabbel.blogspot.com.au/

The City Heart Project: A Fact Or A Fiction?

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!

SHONKY STUFF ON THE LOCAL GOVT FRONT

GLENORCHY Mayor Kristie Johnston has vowed to “stand strong” amid growing friction within the council.

As revealed by the Mercury yesterday, the newly elected mayor adjourned a special council meeting because the council’s general manager Peter Brooks had not provided aldermen with copies of a rep­ort they were voting on.

Ald Johnston’s move was defied by her fellow aldermen, who continued the meeting without her in a move that prompted a “please explain” by Local Government Minister Peter Gutwein and an investigation by Director of Local Government Phillip Hoysted.

The Mercury can also reveal another meeting, allegedly org­anised by another alderman, took place yesterday that included most council aldermen. But the mayor was not invited.

This comes as Ald Jenny Branch said the council “was not a dictatorship”.... CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY

It seems that if you wish to get the Minister to take any notice of shonky Council business you need to be a member of the Council or the shonk needs to promise to be politically embarrassing. Anything that possible to shoved onto some other desk to be covered in heaps of alternative cases to consider. So Council functionaries quite probably feel quite comfortable and untouchable. Let's hope that this case changes behaviours.

RING ANY BELLS?

COUNCIL TROUBLES VERY TROUBLING

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Attention has been drawn to Launceston's General Manager's possible manipulation of Council agendas and minutes. IF its going on its not a very good look!

Down in Glenorchy the Mayor has called for the Director of Local Government to investigate a possible breach of the Local Government Act. She believed a vote was taken after she closed a special Glenorchy City Council meeting that was being asked to make decisions about major council changes. Apparently there was a report, commissioned by council administrators, and it had not been released to any of the council's aldermen.  LINK TO THE STORY

The Victorian consulting firm CT Management Group, whose directors include former Victorian premier and council reformer Jeff Kennett. Apparently she adjourned the meeting, but it continued in her absence and its believed a vote was taken. 

REALLY SHONKY STUFF but the Mayor is ACTING it seems! AND the Director of Local Govt. is looking in to it all it seems. It seems you need an Alderman/Mayor to ask before you get this kind of action. There's the rub!

Launceston's Mayor is famous for his deference to the General Manager typically claiming that the issue is "an operational matter". But even if that is so its his role to represent his constituency. This is really basic stuff. Council determines what is to be done and management gets on with it .... you would hope!

Launceston's General Manager typically invokes by inference SECTION 65 (GRAPHIC ABOVE) of the Local Govt. Act. But who reads that stuff in detail? Not the Aldermen it seems.

Apparently people who complain can be relied upon not to get down to detail and go with the flow as they have lives to live. In the same way, who has time to trawl through Council minutes and agendas? It seems not even the Mayor on his $100Kplus has neither the time, nor the inclination, and can apparently be relied upon not to rock the boat.

It seems that its time for a look at the General Manager's role relative to the Act. Anyone up for that? CLICK HERE TO SEE IT SPELT OUT Apparently if you ask the General Manager  about his role he'll tell you all about his powers in no uncertain terms!

The sample snapped below from the Council minutes is typical. If you do not believe this assertion TEST IT! It has been said before here that the tail wags the dog at Town Hall but who is up for stopping it doing that? The Aldermen all on retainers haven't in the past and the question has to be asked, WHY?

This all looks like a job for the Deputy Mayor but has he got the bottle?

If you cannot see how shonky this minute is, well you are in need of help!

Letter to the Editor

The managerial manoeuvrings that are being revealed at LCC via Mary Machen’s article on Saturday January 21 is concerning. And it’s especially so when it’s relative to the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery’s governance and management.

When Launceston’s ratepayers are conscripted to pay up for the quite significant recurrent cost of the QVMAG, and apparently their representatives are receiving “filtered information”, they might well ask, “what the hell is going on here.”

In the end it comes down to accountability and it appears as if the Aldermen’s ability to be answerable for their decision-making is seemingly being compromised by the General Manager’s Machiavellian interventions.

The possible rationale for all this is more than mystifying, and quite bewildering, unless you attribute it to the maintenance of the status quo. But why?

In the life of the last council Launceston’s ratepayers invested something in the order of $12 million and before that many many millions more.

Clearly it is time that LCC Aldermen started to hold management truly accountable for operational outcomes. However, before that they need to be proactive in policy determination rather than deferring that role to management at ever turn.

The QVMAG has far too much to offer the community for it to become merely a component of some expensive bureaucratic empire building exercise.

Ray Norman
Trevallyn

Not Published in The Examiner

IS LOCAL GOVERNMENT GETTING MORE CRITICAL ATTENTION IN THIS NEW POLITICAL CLIMATE

As Launceston's council braces itself for the upcoming budgetary process the good aldermen, old and new, must be wondering how to pitch it. The outcome of last year's State election was something of a game changer. To a lesser extent so too was the Local Government elections.

Rosita Gallasch's assessment of aldermanic performances in The Examiner was possibly a tad generous and in any event subjective plus rather too early for some to be meaningful. However, it is interesting to see The Examiner paying more critical attention to the goings on at Town Hall.

Finally it is possible to see The Examiner paying closer attention to the quality of the decision making at LCC. At the time of the election last year there was, and there remains, a longish list of questions to do with the style of management and the aldermen's role in it. There is this smell in the air that suggests that all this might not have gone away just yet. Time will tell.

Interstate, in Victoria and Queensland in particular, there is considerable commentaries saying "It is time for renewal, it is time for change." Today, its even starting to flow over into the national political debate with the Prime Minister to give a "game changing speech" at the Press Club tomorrow. The Sydney Morning Herald is even saying "Press Club speech critical moment for floundering Abbott" in the wake of Campbell Newman's spectacular demise in Queensland.

All in all, it is a changing world. It might also be said that 'climate change' is not only about rising sea levels it is also about people's expectations of government right down to the level of local government. 

With Mary Machen's story in The Examiner, copied below, it seems possible to think that Local Government might come under much closer scrutiny than we have seen for some time.

Tandra Vale, Launceston