Leeton Shire Ratepayers and Resident's Association Inc airs thoughts

Councillor Tony Ciccia was invited to attend and discuss matters relating to the upcoming second round of SRV consultations.

Cr Ciccia provided a document prepared by council's general manager outlining the Council's position.

The opening sentence states "council is big business".

Big business is a profit-making entity, but local government is a service-providing entity; the two are mutually exclusive. The former takes carefully managed and well thought out financial risks to make profit. The latter lives within its means to provide all the services and amenities needed.

It is the association's view this confounding of purpose is the root cause of Leeton shire's financial woes. Prudent risk management would have put pause to the progression of the Roxy and pool redevelopments, permitting more due diligence and realistic financial modelling.

These projects have well-known risks, concerns about which seem to have been eclipsed by council, its councillors and consultants hubris.

The projections about the profitability of the Roxy exemplify this hubris. The Roxy is forecast to have an operational deficit of $654,000 even though it will be operating six days a week.

This six days a week "activated service model budget" is acknowledged in the ordinary council meeting agenda, February 22, 2023 (page 25) as being founded upon, "... budgets that are 'best guesses' at this stage and the grant income and donations are potentially optimistic".

And so, ratepayers and residents, your council and its councillors are walking us, eyes wide open, into a $654,000 operational deficit with the Roxy.

If council cannot make realistic forecasts about the Roxy, how can they make a realistic long-term financial plan?

Further, if council's LTFP calls for savings which may not be implemented or achieved, then a lack of thought in this important forward-looking document is reflective of one thing and one thing only - "let's sting the ratepayers for as high a permanent rate rise as we can to make sure we keep making more money and force the community to bear the cost of our folly".

Some other things to ponder about the financial burden our council and councillors have created by their lack of financial prudence.

Mayoral and councillor conference expenses are 238 per cent greater than those of comparable shires.

In comparable shires, our residential water and sewage rate is 30 per cent higher, rates are 17 per cent higher for households and 8 per cent higher for farms while businesses are 43 per cent lower.

That's an awkward statistic.

Finally, we have a much lower socioeconomic rating than comparable shires, so the ability of residents to absorb council's historical financial exuberance is severely compromised.

The LSR&RA Inc stated it is not focused on the past.

But if the past is a guide to the future and the future presented by the council, its councillors and consultants is an "optimistic best guess" then we really are in a pickle.

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This pickle worsens knowing council has no firm plans to reign in its own household spending (consultant fees, sweetheart contracts for Roxy volunteers, constant organisational restructuring, etc) before making cuts to services.

Unfortunately, we are pessimistic about council's and its councillors' ability to manage its own house in the best interest of Leeton's ratepayers and residents.

One consequence of the SRV failing again this year will be ministerial intervention.

Perhaps council needs a spring clean out to reset its mind to focus on the people of Leeton instead of itself.

Considering the above, it is the position of the association that any SRV be rejected unanimously by all councillors.

Stephen Tynan

On behalf of the Leeton Shire Ratepayers and Resident's Association Inc

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