Payrise for $20 million debt per year

I was astonished to read the front page article (Peninsula News, 27 July 2020), regarding our wonderful Central Coast councillors awarding themselves a pay rise.

This council, when elected, had a budget surplus of around $70 million I think, and now it is going to leave us with a 2019/20 budget deficit of around $40 million.

This council will have lost the central coast community over $100 million.

If this was not bad enough, they have now awarded themselves a pay rise costing the ratepayers an additional $35,650 per year.

If you add all their salaries together, it will cost us now around $600,000 per year for councillors' salaries, just for them to put this council into debt on average $20 million per year.

They can't blame the Covid-19 pandemic for the council's financial crisis as it's only been around for eight months, but to then put their snouts into the trough for more money doesn't pass the pub test.

The thing that really gets me annoyed is that they could have reversed their decision for the pay rise at the meeting on July 27 but didn't.

And our local Gosford West Ward councillors all voted for the pay rise with Cr Holstein being the original mover of the motion to award themselves this out of touch pay rise.

People are hurting out there.

Shame on all councillors who voted for this pay rise.

Watch out at the next election.

Email, 6 Aug 2020

Carl Veugen, Umina