Council likes some businesses, not others

I was browsing the latest minutes of Council and I saw they were discussing an application by someone to set up a new takeaway food outlet offering Indian cuisine.  I thought, "That would be good. Great addition to the town."

Well, you could have knocked me down with a feather when I saw the decision:

Council Decision Moved Cr Scallan, Seconded Cr Hodson
C.08/0715 That Council not approve (refuse) the application for a trading
permit for Spicy Grill Indian, to trade from 74 Hampton Street, Bridgetown.
Carried 7/1

Whaat!!  Why???

What is this mob trying to do?

It was at the same meeting that the same group voted unanimously to over-ride their own planning scheme and the objections of locals to allow a supermarket to be built in the old packing sheds.

Then it hit me...  the Council President, Tony Pratico makes most of his cash selling greasy fried chicken and chips out of an old house called Chooks.

Pratico did declare a conflict of interest, but his friend the CEO helped him out by providing councillors with a reason to knock this potential competitor back....  it might cause parking problems. 

Please!  What a joke. 

The money-go-round

As stated previously here, I just don't get this fundraising drive for the new pool.

For those who came in late...

 Council decides to the demolish a perfectly good 50 metre pool because it has leaks and the filter system is inadequate.

Instead of just fixing the leaks and the filter system, it decides to spend $4m on a new one, which will be half the size (25 metres).

We have no pool over summer because, we are told, work on the new pool has to be done during those dry months because it is impossible to build a new pool during winter.  Work on the new pool does not commence until April and is now being carried out during winter.

We then learn that more money - $160,000 - is needed to "fit out" the pool.  A public fundraising campaign is launched.

Greenbushes miner Talison, which is managed by councillor Pat Scallan, announces it will put in $100,000 and match any other donations $1 for $1.

Now, in today's paper we see that Holden dealer Kordics has donated a small car as a raffle prize. There are 300 raffle tickets selling for $100 each.  Sell those tickets and you have raised $30,000. Matched dollar for dollar by Talison, you then have $60,000 and the $160,000 target has been reached.

So why all the fuss about a community fundraising drive?  Its all been taken care of with a couple of large business donations.

And in the paper today, Cr Scallan offers the comforting angle that this community fundraising will keep the rates down.

Yet every year he and the other councillors agree to spend tens of thousands of dollars of ratepayers money on community grants to organisations such as St Johns Ambulance and the Agricultural Society, which are quite capable of doing their own community fundraising.

As I said, I don't get it.

We need some new leaders

Shire Council elections will be on again in October, so it is time to consider whether you should have a go at representing yourself and your neighbours to help get the local government Bridgetown/Greenbushes needs.

If you agree with me that there is something wrong with the way our Council is being run, you should think seriously about trying to change things.

What we have here in Bridgetown is a firmly embedded and entrenched clique of people who benefit either by being a part of the current administration, or being allied with the current administration.

The only way in to take away the control these people have and improve the way things are done is through Council elections.  Only when we see a majority of councillors who are smart enough and independent enough to challenge the status quo, will we see change.

But it is tough.  In a community of around 4000, we have a large percentage of the voting population either employed by the Council (50 employees and nine councillors), or who benefit from Council spending.  All those with vested interests have partners and friends, so that’s a large number of motivated voters who will always support the status quo.

The Council does nothing to improve the economic wellbeing of the district.  It simply collects ever-increasing amounts of money from ratepayers and spends it on its employees and maintaining lots of empty buildings. In order to be seen to be achieving something, it has borrowed large amounts of money and spent large amounts of reserve funds to build a new library and new swimming pool.  (Note: we already had an adequate library and a perfectly good pool. One needed a bit more room and the other some repairs.)

We could do better. Much better. It is time to put Bridgetown on the map.  The economy of this area used to be based on agriculture, but this is waning.  The economy is now reliant on visitors and population growth.  The Shire Council needs to provide leadership to help Bridgetown to grow, help promote the area and boost economic activity.  All we get from our current Shire President is endless motherhood statements about volunteers and road safety.

Please consider helping to move your community forward by nominating for Council.  Go along to a couple of Council meetings and you will see for yourself how they sit there and vote on street name changes for an hour, then sit down for a ratepayer-funded feed.

We certainly deserve more.

 

If you are interested,  call me on 9761 4410.

Asking people to help pay for the pool is outrageous

I recently received a letter from the Shire's Bridgetown-Greenbushes Pool Fundraising Project.

They asked me to "contribute to this community project."

It is not a community project, it is a Shire Council project. The letter lacked detail as to how any contributed funds would be spent.

I replied, declining the request and gave the following reasons;

1. You have not properly explained what funds raised will be used for. "Some of the costs" and "additional pool equipment" are very vague descriptions. I would like to know how much of the costs are yet to be covered by ratepayers funds and borrowings. I would also like to know what equipment is not covered by the tender awarded to construct a pool and associated infrastructure.

2. I do not understand why a public fundraising drive is required to help pay for an upgrade to Council property. Surely this project falls within the Capital Works Program and Budget of the Council and hence should be properly funded as part of the Council's operations.

3. You appear to be double dipping. (We) already pay annual rates to the shire, which we expect will be used among other things to fund the provision of public amenities.

4. I think the project has been poorly managed. I do not understand why the existing pool was demolished a year ago, when all that has been done since then is to dig a hole in the ground.

5. If the Council had taken a pragmatic and prudent approach, it would have simply fixed whatever real problems (leaving aside aesthetic issues) there were with the existing pool, rather than demolishing it and starting again. This would have been a much less expensive and time-consuming option, thereby removing the need for public fundraising.

Tree, what tree?

I understand Shire CEO Tim Clynch has been busy hosing down the issues raised by a former Council employee ..... outlined in previous posts here.

Mr Clynch and the councillors have had a nice little chat about it all behind closed doors and the upshot is that its just a storm in a teacup, everything has been fully investigated and nobody has done anything wrong.

Included in his briefing was a statement that some of my information was wrong. It was not the case that a native tree was felled (without a clearing permit) for timber to build the fancy outdoor recreational facility for staff.

Well, what do we have here?

That's a recently chopped down tree in the depot grounds.

And what's this?

This is what's left of the tree after it had been cut into lengths of timber at the back of the depot with a Lucas Mill belonging to a Shire staff member.

And finally...

There's the timber being used to make the patio.

I've asked the councillors if they think there is anything wrong with any of this and they have simply circled the wagons, claiming they are not allowed to pursue the issues because they are "operational". They have been trained to see their role as nothing more than rubber stamps for decisions made by the senior staff.

The councillors are ignoring  their responsibility to make sure the CEO is doing his job properly.  And if these sorts of things are going on and senior staff including the CEO are simply covering up, that is surely a matter for councillors.

For instance, if the CEO says he has investigated something, but he has never interviewed the complainant, is that a satisfactory investigation???

It's called turning a blind eye

After being informed about the issues raised in the post below this one, I went along to the Council  Meeting on Thursday 26 of March and used public question time to ask the President, Mr Pratico what he did when a Shire employee informed him late last year that illegal activities were taking place at the Shire depot.  This is a transcript of his answers, and some given by the CEO, Mr Clynch. The answers  surprised me.  They might surprise you too. 

My questions to the President   re; former Shire employee Kevin Edsall

11.    In late November last year, when then Shire employee Kevin Edsall, who was the fleet manager at the depot, approached you at the Agricultural Show and reported the theft of steel beams from the Shire Depot by a fellow employee, what action did you take?

President: “When that was reported to me, the matter had already been reported to the CEO previous to that, so I made the CEO aware of the theft.”

My follow up: Do you know…what was the outcome?

 “The CEO  attended to it and the material was returned.”

22.    When Mr Edsall reported to you that his colleagues at the depot had cut down a jarrah tree on crown land and were using Shire supplies and equipment in work hours to construct a recreational amenity, that is an enclosed deck, for themselves on Shire property at the depot, what action did you take?

President: “I think that the Manager of Works was aware that enclosure being built, so there was no action for me to take.”

My follow up: Do you know whether a building permit was sought or obtained for the structure which was built?

Answer from CEO: “No, my understanding is that a building permit was not required for that work."

Why was that?

CEO: “I just made the inquiry and that was the response I got.”

33.    When Mr Edsall later reported to you that not long after him raising the previously mentioned issues, one of his colleagues at the depot had presented him with a spent .22 calibre bullet shell at his workplace, what action did you take?

President: “He… when I questioned why he was presented with that, his response was the Shire employee who presented it said he found it.”

Follow up: Did you not see that as a case of bullying or intimidation in the workplace?

President:  “As Shire President, if it was a case of bullying, or if Mr Edsall felt it was bullying, he should have gone to his superior in the workplace, which was the Manager of Works."

I believe he did report it, but what was your reaction?

"I do not believe it is the Shire President’s role to interfere in operational matters.”

Answer from CEO: "I conducted an investigation into that matter and arrived at a conclusion that there was no…"

What was your finding?

"I decided there was no case of bullying in that situation."

One set of rules for Council staff (none), and another set of rules for the rest of us mugs

Some time last year, the boys up at the Shire depot decided the confines of their lunch room were a little too restricted, so they cut a hole in the wall, chopped down a nearby jarrah tree and went to work cutting it up (mostly during work hours) and building themselves a patio entertainment area.

Apparently its a fabulous place to enjoy all the free beers donated to the work crews by grateful members of the community who get their roads graded regularly or their verges cleared.

A few small problems with this, though...

1. It is illegal to chop down trees without a clearing permit
2. It is  illegal to erect a structure like this without a building permit
3. It is highly inappropriate to use Council-owned equipment and materials during work hours for an unbudgeted expense like this.
4. It is unethical for public servants to accept free cartons of beer for doing their job.

You would expect someone like Shire President Tony Pratico to be aware of the points outlined above and to take strong action if he was informed about something like this, but sadly, you would be wrong.

At last night's Council meeting I asked him what he did when he was told about the situation by a worker at the depot who didn't like what was going on.

The President's reply: "The Manager of Works told me he was aware of that being built, so I took no action."

I then asked whether a building permit had been sought or obtained for the structure.

Council CEO Tim Clynch replied: "I was told no building permit was required."

Wait a minute...  He was told?  As the CEO and a former town planner, surely he knows the rules regarding building permits?

So if you and I, fellow citizens and ratepayers, wanted to cut down a native tree for some timber, we'd need a permit and if we wished to extend our dwellings and build patios, we'd need a permit.

But in the Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes, if you are council employees the rules apparently do not apply.