We have nobody to blame but ourselves
Of course, we understand that Opposition politicians have to criticise the Government about everything, but Ms Tesch really has to get over the amalgamation hurdle and focus on something a bit more constructive ("Rate rise is Liberal Merger Tax, says Tesch", PN 520).
The amalgamation has nothing to do with the financial quagmire that Peninsula residents find themselves in, as has been made clear in all the reports.
The disaster is the result of electing incompetent political hacks to the Council, and, for that, the electors have nobody to blame but themselves.
Any ratepayer had the opportunity to look at candidates' qualifications and to examine their record, before filling in the ballot paper.
What is annoying is that the ones who didn't vote for any of these thankfully defrocked seatwarmers have to bear the cost of their blunders, despite having no responsibility for the debacle.
Councils (and businesses) have been merged since the dawn of local government.
The point of a merger is to realize economies of scale and to benefit from the synergies that can be created by imaginative reorganization.
We have a Council with more staff than was employed by the two councils combined before the amalgamation.
We still have an administration split between two separate locations.
We have a top-heavy management structure unjustified by the scale and complexity of the tasks to be undertaken.
On top of that, we have a Council squandering money on unnecessary studies, plans, strategies, programmes and self-aggrandising gestures, instead of dealing with the core job of local government which is to provide efficient, economical infrastructure for its communities.
If our councillors had a fragment of conscience remaining, they would return the ill-gotten payments they were quick to award themselves when they took office, particularly our full-time, paid mayor.
If Ms Tesch wants to make a worthwhile contribution, she might work towards an effective electoral system that would give qualified candidates some prospect of actually winning a seat on a council not hamstrung by factional disputes.
SOURCE:
Email, 8 Jun 2021
Bruce Hyland, Woy Woy.